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AStAftCK  RESEARCHES  i 


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TRANSACTIONS 


OF  THE 


SOCIETt  INSTITUTED  IN  BENGAL 


JOR  INQUIRING  INTO  THS    . 


HISTORY  AND  ANTIQUITIES, 


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ARTS*  SCIENCES,  AND  LITERATURE* 


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VOLUME  TftE  SECOND- 


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LONDON:' 

Ihineed  by  G.  A«M,  GreviUe-ftreet, 

t^   J.  tlWlLL;    VtllNOK    AMD    ftOOO;   J.  CUTHItL  ]   J.   WALKBA| 
x.x^SA;  VackxnotoNi  alcen,  and  CO.;  OTRIOOS  AM|»  tOM( 
(OTTOMAN    AND    KiZS ;    K,  TAV LDUH  J 
AND  J.  SCATCHIRV. 


^      •■■•—     •►.      /-*■%  *■ 


»..    .    -V    .   -^ 


vV 


ADVERTISEJVteNT, 


-p-^ 


It  may  greatly  conduce  to  the  advancement 
of  ufeful  knowledge,  if  the  learned  Societies 
eliablifhed  in  Europe^.ill  tranfmit  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Society  in  Bengal  a  CoUedlion  of 
Ihort  and  precife  Queries  on  every  Branch  of 
Afiatic  Hiftory,  Natural  and  Civil,  on  the  Phi- 
lofophy.  Mathematics,  Antiquities,  and  Polite 
Literature  of  Afidy  and  on  Eaftern  Arts,  both 
I^iberal  and  Mechanic ;  fince  it  is  hoped  that 
accurate  Anfwers  may  in  due  time  be  procured 
to  any  Queflions  that  can  be  propofed  on  fhofe 
lubje6ls ;  vvhich  muft  in  all  events  be  curious 
and  interefting,  and  may  prove  in  the  higheft* 
degree  beneficial  to  mankind. 


>« 


I   ^ 


I. 


THE  FOUkTH 

ANNIVERSARY   DISCOURSE, 

DELIVERED  t5  FEBRtJARY,  t?^;. 

^Y    THE    PRESIDENT. 


I  ■  1i  ■'  i' 


Oenflemen, 

I  HAD  the  honour  laft  year  of  opening  to  you 
my  intention  to  difcourfe  at  our  annual  meetings 
on  the  Jive  principal  nations  who  have  peopled  the 
continent  and  iflands  of  ^Jia,  fo  as  to  trace,  by  an 
historical  and  philological  analyfis>  the  number  of 
ancient  ftems  from  which  thofe  five  branches  have 
feverally  fprung,  and  the  central  region  from  which 
they  appear  to  have  proceeded ;  you  may,  therefore^ 
exped.  th^t^  having  fubmitted  to  your  confideration  a 
few  general  remarks  on  the  old  inhabitants  of  Lidiay  I 
(hould  now  offer  my  fentiments  on  fome  other  nation, 
whoy  from  a  fimilarity  of  language^  religion^  artSy  and 
manners,  may  be  fuppofed  to  have  had  an  eafly  con- 
nexion with  the  Hindics'y  but,  fince  we  6nd  fome 
Afiatic  nations  totally  diffimilar  to  them  in  all  ormoft 
of  thofe  particulars,  and  fince  the  difference  will 
ftrike  you  more  forcibly  by  an  immediate  and  clofe 
compj^rifon,  1  defign  at  prefent  to  give  a  fhort  ac- 
count of  a  wonderful  people,  who  feem  in  every 
refpeA  fo  ftrongly  contrafted  to  the  jariginal  natives 
of  this  country,  that  they  muft  have  oeen  for  ages  a 
fiiilind:  and  feparate  race* 


» ■ 


I. 


2  THE    FOITRTH   DISCOURSE  • 

For  the  purpofe  of  thefe  difcourfes  1  difcovered  In^ 
dia  on  its  largeft  fcale,  delctibing  it  as  lying  between 
Perfia  and  China ^  Tariary  and  Java  \  and,  for  the  fame 
purpofe,  I  now  apply  the  name  of  jirahia^  as  the 
Arabian  geographers  often  apply  it,  to  that  exten- 
five  pcninfula  which  the  Red  Sea  divides  from 
Afncay  the  great  AJfyrian  river  frbm  Iran^  and  of 
which  the  Erythrean  Sea  wafhes  the  bafe,  without  ex- 
cluding any  part  of  its  weftern  fides,  which  would  be 
completely  maritime,  if  no  ifthmus  intervened  between 
the  Mediterranean  and  the  Sea  of  Kolzom :  that  coun- 
try in  (hort  I  call  Arabia^  in  which  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage and  letters,  or  fuch  as  have  a  near  affinity  tc 
them,  have  been  immemorially  current. 

Arabia^  thus  divided  from  India  by  a  vaft  ocean 
or  at  leaft  by  a  broad  bay,  could  hardly  have  beei 
conne&ed  in  any  degree  with  this  country,  until  na 
vigation  and  commerce  had  been  confiderably  im 
proved ;  yet,  as  the  Hiftdus  and  the  people  of  Yeme. 
were  both  commercial  nations  in  a  very  early  age 
jhey  were  probably  the  firft  inftruments  of  convey  in 
to  the  weflern  world  the  gold,  ivory,  and  perfume 
of  India  J  as  well  as  the  fragrant  wood,  called  Alluwu 
in  Arabic  J  and  Aguru  in  Sanfcrity  which  grows  in  tl: 
grcateft  perfedion  in  Anam^  or  Cochinchina.     It  is  po 
iible  too  that  a  part  of  the  Arabian  idolatry  might  hai 
been  derived  from  the  fame  fource  with  that  of  tl 
Hindus  J  but  fuch  ah  intercourfe  may  be  confidcred 
partial  and  accidental  only  ;  nor  am  I  more  convince 
than  I  w^  fifteen  years  ago,  when  I  took  the  liberty 
animadvert  on  a  ^paffage  in  the  Hiftory  of  Prin 
Kantemiry  that  the  Turh  have  any  juft  reafon  f 
holding  the  coafl:  of  Yemen  to  be  a  part  of  India,  ai 
calling  its  inhabitants  Yellow  Indians. 

The  Arabs  nave  never  been  entirely  fubdued,  r 
has  any  impreflion  been  m^ide  on  them>  except 


OK   THE    ARABi; 


f 


;  iheit  bbrders ;  where^  indeed,  the  Phenicians\  Per^ 

I  /ians,  Ethiopians^  Egyptians^  and,  in  modern  times, 

the  Othman  TarJarSy  have  feverally  acquired  fettle- 
ments;  but,  with  thefe  exceptions,  the  natives  of 
Hejaz  and  Yemen  have  preferved  for  ages  the  folc 
dominion  of  their  defens  and  paftures,  their  moun- 
tains and  fertile  valleys },  thus  apart  frdm  the  reft  of 
mankind,  this  extraordinary  people  have  retained 
their  primitive  manners  and  language,  features  and 
I  character,  as  long  and  as  remarkably  as  the  ISndta 

themfelves.  All  the  genuine  Alrabs  of  Syria  whom 
I  knew  in  Europe -^  thofe  of  Yemen  whom  I  faw  in  the 
ifle  of  Hinttmn^  whither  many  had  come  from  Majkai 
for  the  putpofe  of  trade  \  and  thofe  of  Hejaz^  whom 
I  have  met  in  Bengal,  form  a  ftriking  contrail  to  the 
Hindu  inhabitants  of  thofe  provinces  2  their  eyes  arc 
full  of  vivacity,  their  fpeech  voluble  and  articulate^ 
their  deportment  manly  and  dignified,  their  apprehen- 
iion  quick,  their  minds  always  prefent  and  att^ntive^ 
with  a  fpirit  of  independence  appearing  in  the  GOUti* 
tenances  even  of  the  loweft  among  them.  Men  Will 
always  differ  in  their  ideas  of  civilization,  each  meafur« 
ing  it  by  the  habits  and  prejudices  of  his  own  country  1 
but,  if  courtefy  and  urbanity,  a  love  of  poetry  and  elo* 
quence,  and  the  pradice  of  exalted  virtues  be  a  jufter 
mealure  of  perfeft  focicty,  we  have  certain  proof  that 
the  people  of  ArahtUy  both  on  plains  and  in  cities,  in 
republican  and  monarchical  ftates,  were  eminently  ci* 
vilized  for  many  ages  before  their  conqueft  of  Perjia* 

It  is  deplorable,  that  the  ancient  hiftory  of  thisi 
majeftic  race  (hould  be  as  little  known  in  detail  before 
the  time  of  Dhu  Yezen,  as  th^t  of  the  Hindus  before 
Vicramaditya  5  for,  although  the  vaft  hiftorical  work 
of  jilnuwairiy  and-the  Murujuldhahab  or  Golden  Mea^ 
dows  of  jilmafuitdij  contain  chapters  on  the  kings  of 
fBmyar^^  Ghafan^  and  Hirah^  with  lifts  of  them  and 
iMiches  of  their  feveral  reigns }  and  although  gen^^ 


4  THE   rOVBLTH  DISCOURSE: 

logical  tables,  from  which  chronology  might  be 
better  afcertained,  are  prefixed  to  many  compoiitions 
of  the  old  Arabian  Poets,  yet  "tnoft  manufcripts  arc 
{o  incorreA,  and  fo  many  contradictions  are  found  ia 
the  beft  of  them,  that  we  can  fcarce  lean  upon  tra- 
dition with  fecurity,  and  mufl  have  recourfe  to  the 
feme  media  for  inveftigating  the  hiftory  of  the  Arabs 
chat  I  before  adopted  in  regard  to  that  of  the  Indians  ; 
namely,  their  language;  letters^  and  religion,  their  an*- 
cient  monuments,  and  the  certain  remains  of  ihenarfs ; 
on  «ich  of  which  heads  I  (hall  touch  very  concifely, 
iiaving  premifed  that  my  obfervations  will  in  general 
be  confined  to  the  ftate  of  Arabia  before  that  fingular 
revolution  at  the  beginning  of  xhc/evenlb  century^ 
the  effefts  of  which  we  feel  at  this  day  from  the  Pyre^ 
nean  mountains  and  the  Danube,  to  the  fartheft  parts 
cf  the  Indian  Empire,  and  even  to  the.Eafkern  Iflands. 

L  For  the  knowledge  which  any  European  who 
pleaies  may  attain  of  the  Arabian  language,  we  arc 
principally  indebted  to  the  univerfity  of  L^den :  for, 
(hough  leveral  Italians  have  affiduoufly  laboured  in 
the  ume  wide  field,  yet  the  fruit  of  their  labours  has 
been  rendered  almoft  ufelefs  by  more  commodious 
und  more  accurate  works  printed  in  Holland*,,  and, 
though  Pocock  certainly  accomplithed  much,  and  was 
able  to  accomplish  any  thing,  yet  the  academical  eafc 
which  he  enjoyed,  and  liis  theological  purfiiits,  in*" 
duced  him  to  leave  unfinifhed  the  valuable  work  of 
Maidani  which  he  had  prepared  for  publication ;  nor, 
even  if  that  mine  of  Arabian  philology  had  feen 
the  light,  would  it  have  borne  any  comparifon  with 
the  fifty  differtatiohs  of  Hariris  which  the  firft  Ah 
iert  Schultens  tranflated  and  explained,  though  he 
fent  abroad  but  few  erf  them,  and  has  left  his  wortl^ 
grandiba,  from  whom  perhaps  Maidam  alfa  may 
be  expeded,  the  honour  of  publiftiing  the  reft: 
but  the  palm  of   glory  ia  thi^  branch  of  literal 


•.    0»    THE    ARABS^  ^ 

ture  IS  due  to  Gohis^  whofe  works  are  equally  pro^ 
found'  xnA  elegant ;  fo  perfpicuous  in  method^  that 
chey  luay  always  be  .coniuked  without  fatigue,  and 
read  wid^out  languor,  yet  fo  abundant  in  matter,  that 
any  man  who  (hall  begin  with  his  noble  edition  of 
the  Granunar  compiled  by  his  imAcr  ErpeniuSy  and 
proceed  with  the  help  of  his  incomparable  didionary, 
to  ftudy  his  Hiftory  of  Taimur  by  Ibni  Arabjhah^  and 
fhall  make  himfelf  complete  mafker  of  that  fublime 
work,  will  underiland  the  learned  Arabic  better  than 
the  deepeft  fchol^r,  at  ConftantinopJe  or  at  Mecca. 
The  Arabic  langdage,  therefore,  is  almofl  wholly  in 
our  power ;  and,  as  it  is  unqueftionably  one  of  the 
mod  ancient  in  the  world,  fo  it  yields  to  none  ever 
ipoken  by  mortals  in  the  number  of  its  words  and  the 
precifion  of  its  phrafes ;  ^but  it  is  equally  true  and 
wonderful,  that  it  bears  not  the  lead  refemblance, 
either  in  words  or  the  ftru£hire  of  them,  to  the  San*^ 
fcritj  or  great  parent  of  the  Indian  dialefts ;  of  which 
dif&milarity  I  (hall  mention  two  remarkable  inftan- 
ccs  ;  the  Sanfcrit^  like  the  Greeks  Perjian^  and  Ger^- 
many  delights  in  compounds,  but  in  a  much  higher 
degree,  and  indeed  to  fuch  an  excefs,  that  I  could 
produce  words  of  more  than  twenty  fyllables,  not 
formed  ludicroufly,  like  that  by  which  the  bufFopn 
in  Arifiofhanes  defcribes  a  feaft,  but  with  perfeftferi- 
oufnefs,  on  the  moft  folemn  occa(ions,  and  in  the  moft 
elegapt  works ;  while  the  Arabic ,  on  the  other  hand, 
and  all  its  fifter  dialefts,  abhor  the,  compofition  of 
words,  and  invariably  exprefs  very,  complex  ideas- 
by  circumlocution ;  fo  that  if  a  compound  word  be 
found  in  any  genuine  language  of  the  Arabian  pen- 
infula  {%enmerdah  ioi  inftance,  which  octurs  in  the 
Mama/alt)  it  may  iat  once  be  pronounced  an  exotic. 
Again:  It  is  the^  genius  of  the  Sanfcrit^  and 
other  languages  of  the  fame  ftock,  that  the  roots  of 
verbs  be  almoft  univerfally  ^i/zV^r/^/,  fo  t\iax.  five-and- 
tvfmtjf  hundred  fuch :  wots  might  be  formed  by  the. 


6  THE    FOURTH   DISCOVUSE  : 

compofition  of  ^^  fifty  Indian  letters ;  but  the  Arahte 
roots  are  as  univerfally  triliteraU  fo  that  the  compo- 
fition of  the  twenty -eight  Atabian  letters  would  give 
near  two-and-twenty  thoufand  elements  of  the  language : 
and  this  will  demonftrate  the  furprizing  extent  of  it ; 
for,  although  great  numbers  of  its  roots  are  confefled- 
ly  loft,  and  fome,-  perhaps,  were  never  in  ufe ;  yet^ 
if  we  fuppofe  ten  thoufand  of  ihem  (without  reck- 
oning qmdriVtterah)  to  exift,  and  each  of  them  to 
admit  o^^  five  variations,  one  with  another,  in  form- 
ing derivative  nounSy  even  then  a  perfedt  Arabic  dic- 
tionary ought  to  contain  fifty  thoufand  words,  each 
of  which  may  receive  a  multitude  of  changes  by  the 
rules  of  grammar.     The  derivatives  in  Sanfcrit  are 
conliderably  more  numerous :  but  a  farther  compa- 
rifon  between  the  two  languages  is  here  unneceflary, 
fince,  in  whatever  light  we  view  them,  they  feem 
totally  diftinct,  and  muft  have  been  invented  by  two 
different  races  of  men;  nor  do  I  recoiled  a  fingle 
word  in  common  between  them,  except  Suruj^  the 
plural  of  Sirajj  'meaning  both  a  lamp  and  ihtfim ;  the 
Sanfcrit  name  of  which  is,  in  Bengal j  pronounced. 
Surja  ;  and  even  this  refemblance  may  be  purely  ac- 
cidental.    We  may  ealily  believe  with  the  Hindus^ 
that  not  e^en  Indra  hinfelf  and  his  heavenly  hands y 
much  lefs  any  mortal^  ever  comprehended  in  his  mind 
fuch  an  ocean  of  words  as  their  facred  language  con^ 
tains  I  and  with  the  Arabs^  that  no  man  uninfpired 
was  ever  a  complete  mafter  of  Arabic:  in  faft,  no 
perfon,  I  believe,  now  living  in  Europe  or  Afiaj  can 
read  without  ftudy  an  hundred  couplets  together,  in 
any  connexion  of  ancient  Arabian  poems ;  and  we 
are  told,  that  the  great  author  of  the  Ramus  learned 
by  accident  from  the  mouth  of  a  child,  in  a  village 
of  Arabia^  the  meaning  of  three  words,  which  he  had 
long  fought  in  vain  from  grammarians,  and  firom 
books,  of  the  higheft  reputation.     It  is  by  approxi- 
mation alone  that  a  knowledge  of  thefe  two  venerable 
languages  can  be  acquired;  and^  with  moderate  atten-- 


OK    THE    ARABS.  'J 

tion,  enough  of  them  may  be  known  to  defight  and 
inftru<5t  us  in  an  infinite  degree.  I  Conclude  this  head 
with  remarking,  that  the  nature  of  the  Ethiopic  dia-  ' 
ledl  feems  to  prove  an  early  'eflabliihment  of  the 
Arahs  in  part  of  Ethiopia  ^  from  which  they  were 
afterwards  expelled,  and  attacked  even  in  their  own 
country  by  the  AhyJJinianSy  who  had  been  invited 
over  as  aiixibaries  againft  the  tyranny  oi  Yemen j  about  a 
century  before  the  birth  of  Muhammed. 

'Of  the  charafters  in  which  the  old  cotnpoiitions  of 
Arabia  were  written,  we  know  but  little,  except  that 
the  Koran  originally  appeared  in  thofe  of  Cirfahy  ftoux 
which  the  modem  Arabian  letters,  with  all  their  ele^ 
gant  variations,  were  derived,  and  which  unqueftion- 
ably  had  a  common  origin  with  the  Hebrew  or  ChaUaic^ 
but,  as  to  the.  Himyaric  letters,  or  thofe  which  we  fee 
mentioned  by  the  name  of  AhmJnad^  we  are  ftill  in 
total  darknefs;  the  traveller  mebuhr  having  been 
unfortunately  prevented  from  vifiting  fome  ancient 
monuments  in  Yemen^  which  are  faid  to  have  infcrip- 
tions  t)n  them.  If  thofe  letters  bear  a  ftrong  refem. 
blance  to  the  Nagarij  and  if  a  flory  current  in  India 
be  true,  that  (bmc  Hindu  merchants  heard  the  Sanf^ 
crit  language  fpoken  in  Arabia  the  Happy^^e  might 
be  confirmed  in  our  opinion  that  an  intercourfe  for- 
merly fubfifted  between  the  two  nations  of  oppofite 
coafts, — but  fhould  have  no  reafon  to  believe  that 
they  fprang  from  the  fame  immediate  flock.  The 
firft  fyllable  of  Hamyar^  as  many  Europeans  write  it,  ' 
might  perhaps  induce  an  etymologift  to  derive  the 
Arabs  of  Yemen  from  the  great  anceflor  of  the  /«- 
dians ;  but  we  mufl  obferve,  that  Himyar  is  the 
proper  appellation  of  thofe  Arabs ;  and  many  rea- 
fons  concur  to  prove  that  the  word  is  purely  Arabic. 
The  fimilarity  of  fome  proper  names  on  the  borders 
of  India  to  thofe  of  Arabia^  as  the  river  ArabiuSy  a 
place  calkd  Arabia^  a  people  named  Aribes  or  Am 

.  S4 


8  THE    FOURTH  -DISCOtTRSE: 

hiesj  and  another  called  Sahai,  is  indeed  remarkablCji 
and  may  hereafter  furni(h  me  with  obfervations  of 
ibme  importance!  but  not  at  all  inconliilent  with  my 
prefent  ideas. 

11.  It  is  generally  aflerted  that  the  old  religion  of 
the  ^rah  was  entirely  Sabian ;  but  I  can  offer  fo  little 
accurate  information  concerning  the  Sabian  faith,  or 
even  the  meaning  of  the  word,  that  I  dare  not  yet 
fpeak  on  the  fubjedt  with  confidence.  This  at  leaft 
is. certain^  that  the- people  of  Yemen  very  foon  fell 
into  the  common,  but  faial,  error  of  adoring  the  fun 
and  the  firmament ;  for  even  the  third  in  defcent  from^ 
Yoktan;  who  was  confeqiiently  as  old  as  Nahor^  took 
the  furr^ame  of  Abdujliavis^  or  Servant  of  the  Sim  \ 
i  '  and  his  family,  we  are  aflTured,  paid  particular  ho- 

i  nourstothat  luminary;  other  tribes  worfliipped  tho 

J  planets  and  fixed  ftars ;  but  the  religion  of  the  poets 

;  atlealt,  leems  to  have  been  pure  Theifm  ;  and  this  w 

fc  know  with  certainty,  becaufe  we  have  Arabian  verf 

f.i  of  unfufpefted   antiquity,  which  contain  pious  ar 

£  elevated  fentiments  on  the  goodnefs  and  juftice,  t 

4»i  power  and  omnipotence,  oi  Allah ^  or  the  God. 

\  an  infcription,  faid  to  have  been  found  on  mar,ble 

\  Yemeny  be.  authentic,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  tl 

country:  preferved  the  religion  of  Eber,  and  profefl 
}  a  belief /Vi  miracles  and  a  future ^ate. 


.i 

r 


I 

If 


We  ^are  alio    told,    that    a    flrong    refemblar 
may  be  found  between  the  religions  of  the  pag 
Araks  KXiA  ih^^ Hindus;   but,  though   this  may 
true,    yet    an    agreement  in   worlhipping   the    i 
and  ftars  will  not  prove  an  affinity  between  the  t 
nations:    the  powers  of  God,  reprefented  as  fern 
deities,  the  adoration  of^ones,  and  the  name  of 
idol  Wuddy  may  lead  us  indeed  to  fufpect  that  fo 
of  the  Hirulu  fuperftitions  had  found  their  way  i 
Arabia ;  and,  though  we  have  no  traces  in  Arr 


4 


OK   THE    ARABS. 


hiftory  of  fuch  a  conqueror  or  legiflator  as  the  great 
Sefac^  who  is  faid  to  have  raifed  pillars  in  Yemen  as 
well  as  at  the  mouth  of  the  Gangesy  yet,  fince  we 
know  that  Sacya  is  a  title  of  Buddha^  whom  (bme  fup- 
pofe  to  be  fVoden^  fince  htiddha  was  not  a  native  of 
Indiay  and  fince  the  age  of  Sefac  perfedly  agrees  with 
that  of  Sacya^  we  may  form  a  plaufible  conjefturo 
that  they  were  in  fa6t  the  fame  perfqn  who  travelled 
eaftward  from  Ethiopia^  either  as  a  warrior  or  as  a  law- 
giver, about  a  thouland  years  before  Chrift^  and  whole 
rites  we  now  fee  extended  as  far  as  the  country  of 
Niforij  or,  as  the  Chinefe  call  it,  Japuen^  both  words 
fignifying  the  Rifitig  Sun.  Sacya  may  be  derived  from 
a  word  meaning  power ^  6v  from  another  denoting  ve^ 
getabJeJood ;  fo  that  this  epithet  will  not  determine 
whether  he  was  a  hero  or  a  philofopher  ;  but  the  title 
Buddha  or  wife^  may  induce  us  to  believe  that  he  was 
rather  a  benefaAor  than  a  deftroyer  of  his  fpeciej : 
if  his  religion,  however,  was  really  introduced  into  any 
part  of  Arabia,  it  could  not  have  been  general  in  that 
country ;  and  we  may  fafely  pronounce,  that  before 
the  Mohammedan  revolution,  the  noble  and  learne4 
Arabs  were  Theifts,  but  that  a  ftupid  idolatry  pre- 
vaned  among  the  lower  orders  of  the  people. 

I  find  no  trace  among  them,  till  their  emigration,  of 
any  phijofophy  but  ethics ;  and  even  their  fyftem  of 
morals,  generous  and  enlarged  as  it  feems  to  have  beer^ 
in  the  minds  of  a  few  illuftrious  chieftains,  was  on  the 
whole  miferably  depraved  for  a  century  at  lead  before 
Muhammed.  The  diftinguifhing  virtues  which  they 
boafted  of  inculcating  and  praclifing,  were  a  con? 
tempt  of  riches,  and  even  of  death  j  but,  in  the  age 
of  the  Seven  Poets^  their  liberality  had  deviated  into 
mad  profiifion,  their  courage  into  ferocity,  and  their 
patience  into  an  obftinate  Ipirit  of  encountering  fruit- 
Icfs  dangers ;  but  I  forbear  to  expatiate  on  the  n^an? 
pcrs  of  the  Arabs  in  that  age,  becaufe  the  poems,  en- 


ID  THE    FOURTH    DISCOURSE: 

titled  AlmoalJakaty  which  have  appeared  in  our  own 
language,  exhibit  an  exa£t  pidlure  of  their  virtues 
and  their  vices,  their  wifdom  and  their  tolly;  and 
0]iow  what  may  be  conftantly  expedted  from  men  of 
open  hearts  and  boiling  paflions,  with  no  law  to  con- 
trol>  and  little  religion  to  redrain  them. 

III.  Few  monuments  of  antiquity  are  preferved  iji 
Arahiay  and  of  thofe  few  the  beft  accounts  are  very 
uncertain;  but  we  are  affured  that  infcriptions  on 
rocks  and  mountains  are  ftill  ieen  in  various  parts  of 
the  peninfula  ;  which,  if  they  are  in  any  known  lan- 
guage, and  if  correft  copies  of  them  can  be  procured, 
may  be  decyphered  by  eafy  and  infallible  rules. 

.  The  firft  Albert  SchuJtens  has  preferved  in  his  An- 
cient Memorials  of  Arabia^  the  moft  pleafing  of  all 
his  works,  two  little  poems  in  an  elegiac  ftrain,  which 
arefaid  to  have  been  found,  about  the  middle  of  the 
feventh  century,  on  fome  fragments  of  ruined  edifices 
in  Hadramutj  near  Aden,  and  are  fuppofed  to  be  of  an 
.  indefinite,  but  very  remote  age.  It  may  naturally 
be  alked, — In  what  characters  were  they  written? 
Who  decyphered  them  ?  Why  were  not  the  original 
letters  preferved  in  the  book  where  the  veries  are  cited  ? 
What  became  of  the  marbles  which  Abdurrahnuin^ 
then  governor  of  Yemen^  moft  probably  fent  to  the 
Khalfah  at  Bagdad?  If  they  be  genuine,  xhey  prove 
the  people  of  Yemen  to  have  been  *  herdfmen  and  war* 
?  riors,  inhabiting  a  fertile  and  well  watered  country 
^  full  of  game,  and  near  a  fine  fea  abounding  with 
^  fiQi,  under  a  monarchical  government,  ^nd  dreffed  ip 
^  green  filk,  or  vefts  of  needle-work,*  either  of  their 
own  mahufafture  or  imported  from  India.  The  mea- 
fure  of  thefe  verfes  is  perfeftly  regular,  and  the  dia-» 
left  undiftinguifliable,  at  leaft  by  me,  from  that  of 
Kuraijh ;  fo  that,  if  the  Arabian  writers  were  much 
i4difl:ed  to  litferary  impofturcs,  I  fliould  ftrongly  fuf* 


ON  THE   ARABS.  H 

peft  them  to  be  modern  compofitions  on  the  inftabi- 
lity  of  huaian  greatnefs,  and  the  confequences  of  ir- 
religion,  illuftrated  by  the  example  of  the  Hxmyaric 
princes ;  and  the  fame  may  be  fufpeded  of  the  firft 
poem  quoted  by  Schultens,  which  he  afcribes  to  an 
jiralf  iij  the  age  of  Solomon. 

i  The  fuppofed  houfes  of  the  people  called  Thamud^ 
are  alfo  ftill  to  be  feen  in  excavations  of  rocks ;  and, 
in  the  time  of  Tabrizi  the  Grammarian,  a  caftle  was 
extant  in  Yemen  which  bore  the  name  of  Atadbat^  an 
old  bard  and  warrior,  who  firft,  we  are  told,  formed 
bis  army,  thence  called  alkhamisyxnjive  parts,  by  which 
arrangement  he  defeated  the  troops  of  Hi?nyar  in  an 
expedition  againft  Sanaa. 

Of  pillars  ere<5led  by  Se/acy  after  his  invafioa  of 
Yemen,  we  find  no  mention  in  Arabian  hiftories ;  and, 
perhaps,  the  ftory  has  no  more  foundation  than  ano- 
ther told  by  the  Greeks  and  adopted  by  Newton,  that 
the  Arabs  worfhipped  Urania^  and  even  Bacchis  by 
name,  which,  they  fay,  means  great  in  Arabic ;  but 
where  they  found  fuch  a  word,  we  cannot  difcover : 
it  is  true,  that  Beccah  fignifies  a  great  and  tumultuous 
crowd  \  and,  in  this  fenfe,  is  one  name  of  the  facred 
city  commonly  called  Meccah* 

The  Cabahy  or  quadrangular  edifice  at  Meccah,  \% 
indifputably  fo  ancient,  that  its  original  ufe  and  the 
name  of  its  builder  are  loft  in  a  cloud  of  idle  tradi- 
tions. An  Arab  told  me  gravely,  that  it  was  raifed 
by  Abraham,  who,  as  I  aflured  him,  was  never  there ; 
others  afcribe  it,  with  more  probability,  to  Jfmail,  or 
one  of  his  immediate  defcendants ;  but  whether  it  was 
built  as  a  place  of  divine  worfhip,  as  a  fortrefs,  as  a 
fepukhre,  or  as  a  monument  of  the  treaty  between  the 
old  pofleffors  of  Arabia  and  the  foi^s  of  Kidar,  artti- 

quaries  may  difpgte,  but  no  mpnal  can  determiiie. 


,i  is  *o«S^^^i.S!  ««^  ^-'Ich  t  now  are  af. 
Jme  ^«^f  C  ri.e  room  m  l^}^\^yian  edifice^ 

*^  tfd  io,Sd  contain  ^^^^^l  Z^X^r.%-^f'^ 
fcntibkd,  wou  ,    -e  enougb  tor  ^^e       ^    ^gdio  tbe 

a,  if  it  rr^^'fZ  it  wood  feem  lU  ^o  P     ^^^^^^^ 
^  patriarchal  family-       ;s:,^r»*«.    ^/^•^f^.adaK  or 

t&oral  J^f  ^f ,  °  e  name  of  ^'^^^^iZ  may  fmi^* 
■Sfifts  ^^f  '^\yMoon  -,  but,  al  hough  ^^^^, 

the  r^^''  f  *„  ie  cannot  but  ^^J^'^llPviaious  P^^ 
^  t^  ??t2' orig'naily  defigned  tor  r^g^.^ 
the  ^^''^^^Ji'c^plets  are  c««^.^,V  extreme  fimpU 
pofcs.  ^^,'^^-^„rwhicb,  fronj  5^^%^,.  than  'othc 
Sd^is  b«^tf3%tarance  of  '^npo^^^  ,^  ^/,. 
citv,  fei''^'  r  ^^ind  :  they  '^^^  .*^^"°  ^-Wv  aUowe 
.      vefes  of  th\t?/.y  L' #■«»'  ^5°  a  IS  tw  nty-eig^' 

«m?te,  ^°^7Ube«nft^*^s1^?t'ofa^  i«  ^ 

ty  kAf^f'thet  «  ^^'  "^^f .  un  on  the  triur 
J  his  ^^^^'JaUf^bjeas.  and  often  on  ^ 

^ith  poems  on  ^"  ;   i^  ihe  f  »^^^^  °  fo^  fo\e  int 
vbich  the  mercnai 

^Auin,  ""'?  «*;,«« ;  »»''•  ?'Jr    ,°,;£  bards  « 
»"*'  .  toft. %«  »'  ""  S  chtonoloecal 


By  reaibning  downwards,  however,  we  mzf  afccrtaia 
fome  points  of  cpniiderable  importance.  The  uni« 
verfal  tradition  of  Yenutn  is^  That  YokUm^  the  foa  of 
Eber^  fifft  fettled  his  family  in  the  country;  which 
Cbttlement,  by  the  computation  admitted  in  Europe^ 
mufl  haye  been  above  three  thoufandfix  hundred  years 
ago,  and  nearly  at  the  time  when  the  Hindus^  under 
the  condu6:  of  Ratna^  were  fubduing  the  firft  inhabit- 
ants of  .thefe  regions,  and  extending  the  Indian  etn- 
pire  from  jlyodhya  or  jiudh^  as  far  as  the  ifle  of  Sinhal^ 
or  Silan.  According  to  this  calculation,  Nuuman^  king 
of  Y^men^  in  the  ninth  generation  from  Eber^  was  fcon- 
tempcMrary  with  Jqfeph ;  and,  if  a  verfe  compofed  bjT 
that  prince,  and  quoted  by  Ahulfeda^  was  reially  pre- 
ferved,  as  it  might  eafily  have  been,  by  oral  tradition^ 
k  proves  the  great  antiquity  of  the  jirabian  language 
and  metre.     This  is  a  literal  verfion  of  the  couplets 

*  When  thou,  who  art  in  power,  condudteft  affairs  with 

*  courtefy,  thou  altairieft  the  high  honours  of  thofe 
^  who  are  moft  exalted,  and  whofe  mandates  are 
*-  obeyed.'  We  are  told  that,  from  an  elegant  verb  in 
^his  diftich,  the  royal  poet  acquired  the  furnamc  of 
Almuaafer^  or  the  Courteous.  Now  tlye  reafons  foe 
believing  this  verfe  genuine  are  its  brevity,  which  made 
it  eafy  to  be  remembered,  and  the  good  fenfe  com- 
prized in  it,  which  made  it  become  proverbial ;  ta 
which  we  may  add,  that  the  dialed  is  apparently  old* 
and  differs  in  three  words  from  the  idiom  oi  Hejaz. 
The  reafons  for  doubting  are,  that  fentencesand  verfes 
of  indefinite  antiquity  are  fometimes  afcribed  by  the 
Arabs  to  particular  perfons  of  eminence;  and  they 
even  go  fo  far  as  to  cite  a  pathetic  elegy  of  Adam 
faimfelf  on  the  death  of  Ahel^  but  in  very  good  Arabic 
and  correfl:  meafure.  Such  are  the  doubts  which 
neceifarily  muft  arife  on  fuch  a  fubjeA ;  yet  we  have 
no  need  of  ancient  monuments  or  traditions  to  prove 
all  that  oar  analyfis  requires,  namely,  that  the  Arabs  di 
B^%  and  Y^im  fprang  £i:om  a  flock  entirely  differ* 


14  THE  FOURTH  DlSGOtTRSE  I 

cnt  from  that  of  the  Hindus^  and  that  their  firft  efbt-* 
bjifhmcnts  in  the  refpeftivc  countries  where  We  no\^ 
find  .them,  were  nearly  coeval* 

I  cannot  finifh  this  article  without  ob{trving,  that^ 
when  the  King  of  Denmark's  miniftcrs  itiftrufted  the 
Damfh  travellers  to  colleft  hiftorical  books  in  Arabic ^ 
but  not  to  bkify  themfelves  with  procuring  Arahiatt 
foemsj  they  certainly  were  ignorant  that  the  only  mo- 
numents of  old  Arabian  hiftory  are  colleftions  of  poe- 
tical pieces  and  the  cosKnentaries  on  them ;  that  all 
memorable  tranfadiions  in  Arabia  were  recorded  in 
Terfe  ;  and  that  more  certain  fafts  may  be  known  by 
reading  the  Haniafah,  the  Diwan  of  Hudhaily  and  the 
valuable  work  of  ObaiJuJlah,  than  by  turning  over  a 
hundred  volumes  in  profe,  unlefs  indeed  tbofe  poe^ns 
are  cited  by  the  hiftorian^  as  their  authorities. 

IV.  The  manners  of  the  Hejazi  Arabs,  which  have 
continued,  we  know,  from  the  time  of  Solomon  to  the 
prefent  age,  were  by  no  means  favourable  to  the  cul- 
tivation of  arts'y  and,  as  to  fclenceSj  wc  have  no  rea- 
fen  to  believQ  that  they  were  acquainted  with  any ; 
fer  the  mere  amufement  of  giving  names  to  ftars^ 
which  were  ufeful  to  them  in  their  paftoral  or  preda- 
tory rambles  through  the  deferts,  and  in  their  obfer- 
vations  on  the  weather,  can  hardly  be  confidered  as  a 
material  part  of  aftronomy.  The  only  arts  in  which 
they  pretended  to  excellence  (I  except  horfemanlhip 
and  military  accompli(hments)  were  poetry  and  rA^- 
toric^  That  we  have  none  of  their  compofitions  in  profe^ 
before  the  Koran,  n^ay  be  afcribed,  perhaps,  to  the 
little  fkill  which  they  feem  to  have  had  in  writing, 
to  their  predileftion  in  favour  of  poetical  meafure, 
and  to  the  facility  with  which  verfes  are  committed 
to  memory  ;  but  all  their  ftories  prove,  thgt  they  were 
eloquent  in  a  high  degree,  and  poiTefTed  wonderful 
powers  of  fpeaking,  wiiUoot  preparation,  in  flowing 


I'  ON   THE    ARABS*  I5 

i  and  forcible  periods.     I  have  never  been  able  to  dif- 

I  cover  what  was  meant  by  their  books  called  Rawa» 

Jim ;  but  fuppofe  that  they  were  coUeAions  of  their 
common  or  cuftomary  law.     Writing  was   fo  little 
prai^ifed.  among  them,  that  their  old  poems,  which 
e     ;  are  now  acceffible  to  us,  may  aimoft  be  confidered  as 

:,     !  originally  unwritten  ;  and  1  am  inclined  to  think  that 

n     \  Samuel  JohifotC%  reafoning  on  the  extreme  imperfec- 

».     '  tion  of  unwritten  languages,  was  too  general ;  fince  a 

y     j  language  that  is  only  fpoken,  may  neverthelefs   be 

U  highly  poliihed  by  a  people  who,  like  the  ancient 

n  Arahsy  make  the  improvement  of  their  idiom  a  na- 

j  tionad  concern,  appoint  folemn  aflfemblies  for  the  pur- 

pofe  of  difplaying  their  poetical  talents,  and  hold  it  a 
duty  to  exercife  their  children  in  getting  by  heart 


•i 


a 


A     f  their  moft  approved  compofitions. 


\ 


5       i 


I 


The  people  of  Yemen  had  poffibly  more  mechanical 
e      \  arfs^  and,  perhaps,  more  Jcience  ;  but,  although  their 

e      ?  ports  mud  have   been  the  emporia  of  coniiderable 

i-      \  commerce  between  Egyjit  and  /W//i,  or  part  of  Perfiu^ 

I  yet  we  have  no  certain  proofs  of  their  proficiency  in 

navigation,  or  even  in  manufaftures.  That  the  Arabs 
\  of  the  X>efert  had  mufical  inftruments,  and  names  for 

the  different  notes,  and  that  they  were  greatly  delighted 
with  melody,  w^  know  from  themfelves;  but  their 
lutes  and  pipes  were  probably  very  (imple,  and  their 
i^  mufic,  1  fufped:,  was  little  more  than  a  natural  and 

3  tuneful  recitation  of  their  elegiac  verfes  and  love** 

?-  fongs.    The  Angular  property  of  their  language,  in 

fc-  (hunning' compound  words,  may  be  urged,^  according 

fc  to  Baem*%  idea,  as  a  proof  that  they  had  made  no 

r^  progrefs  in  arts^  ^  which  require,'  fays  he,  *  a  variety 

f,  *  of  combinations  to  exprefs  the  complex  notions  arif- 

3  I  ing  from  them ;'  but  the  fingularity  may  perhaps  be 

^  imputed  wholly  to  the  genius  of  the  language,-  and  the 

J  tafte  of  thofe  who  fpoke  it,  fmce  the  old  Germans 

^  .  4firbo  kneiv  np  art^  appear  to  have  delighted  in  com* 


l6  THE  FOURTH  DISCOURSE  : 

pound  words^,  which  poetry  and  oratory,  one  Would 
conceive,  might  require  as  much  as  any  meaner  art 
whatfocven  » 

So  great,  on  /the  whole,  was  the  iirength  of  parts  of 
capacity,  either  natural  or  acquired  from  habit,  for, 
which  the  jirah  were  ever  diftinguifhed,  that  We  can^. 
not  be  furprifed  ^hen  we  fee  that  blaze  of  geniuJi 
which  they  difplayed,  as  far  as  their  arms  extended, 
when  they  burft,  like  their  own  dvke  oi  Jlrim^  through 
their  ancient  limits,  and  fpreaicU  like  an  inundation, 
over  the  great  emjnre  of  Iran.  That  a  race  of  Taxis 
or  Courfers  as  the  Perfians  call  them,  *who  drank 

*  the  milk  of  camels  and  fed  on  lizards,  (hould  enter- 

*  tain  a  thought  of  fubduing  the  kingdom  of  Feridunl 
was  confidered  by  the  General  of  Yezdegird^s  army 
as  the  ftrongeft  inftance  of  fortune's  levity  and  muta- 
bility ;  but  Firdaufi^  a  coniplete  mafter  of  AJtatic 
manners,  and  fingularly  impartial,  reprcfents  \\MzArahs^ 
even  in  the  age  of  Feriduriy  as  *  difclaiming  any  kind 

*  of  dependence  on  that  monarch,  exulting  in  their 
•liberty,  delighting  in  eloquence,  ads  of  liberality,  and 

*  martid  achievements;  and  thus  making  the  whole 

*  earth,'  fays  the  poet,  *  red  as  wine  with  the  blood 

*  of  their  foes,  and  the  air  like  a  foreft  o£  canes  with 
•their  tall  fpears/  With  fuch  a  charafter  they  were 
likely  to  conquer  any  country  that  they  could  invade  ; 
and,  \{  Alexander  had  invaded  their  dominions,  they 
would  unqueftionably  have  made  an  obftinate,  and 
probably  a  fuccefsful  refinance.  .  . 

But  I  have  detained  you  too  long,  gentlemen,  with 
a  nation  who  have  ever  been  my  favourites,  and  hope 
at  your  next  anniverfary  meeting  to  travel  with  you 
over  a  part  of  AJia  which  exhibits  a  race  of  men  dif- 
tinft  both  from  Hindus  and  from  the  Arabs.  In 
the  mean  time,  it  (hall  be  my  care  to  fuperintend  the  . 
publication  of  your  tranfadtions;  in  which  if  the  karned. 


ON    THE    ARABS.  I7 

in  Europe  have  not  railed  their  expedations  too  high, 
they  will  not,  I  believe,  be  difappointed :  my  owa 
imperfect  effays  I  always  except;  but,  though  my 
other  engagements  have  prevented  my  attendance 
on  your  tociety  for  the  greateft  part  of  laft  year,  and  I 
have  fet  an  example  of  that  freedom  from  reflraint, 
without  which  no  fociety  can  flourifh ;  yet,  as  my 
few  hours  of  leifure  will  now  be  devoted  to  Sanfcrit 
literature,  I  cannot  but  hope,  though  my  chief  objeft 
be  a  knowledge  of  Hindu  law,  to  make  ibme  diico- 
very  in  other  fciences,  which  I  fhall  impart  with  hu- 
mility, and  which  you  will^  I  doubt  not^  receive  with 
indulgence* 


/ 


Vol.  IL 


%Z  THE  FIFTH  DISCOURSE  : 

of  litde  confequence  when  our  ideas  are  diftinft  witlr^ 
out  them.  Having  given,  therefore,  a  corred  notion 
of  the  country  which  I  propofed  to  examine,  I  fliall 
not  fcruple  to  call  it  by  the  general  name  of  Tartaryy 
though  I  am  confcious  of  ufing  a  term  equally  impro- 
per in  the  pronunciation  and  the  application  of  it. 

Tartary^  then,  which  contained,  according  to  Pliny^ 
an  innumerahle  multitude  of  nations,  by  whom  the  reft 
of  AJia  and  Europe  has  in  different  ages  been  over- 
run,  is  denominated,  as  various  images  have  prefented 
themfelves  to  various  fancies,  the  great  hive  of  the 
northern  fwarnis^  the  nurfery  of  irrefifiihle  legions ^  ana 
"by  flronger  metaphor,  the  foimdery  of  the  human  race  ; 
but  M.  Bailly^  a  wonderfully  ingenious  man  and  a 
very  lively  writer,  feems  firfl  to  have  confidered  it  as 
the  cradle  of  our  fpecies^  and  to  have  fupported  an 
opinion  that  the  whole  ancient  world  was  enlightened 
by  fciences  brought  from  the  moft  northern  parts  of 
Scythiay  particularly  from  the  banks  of  the  Jenifea,  ot 
from  the  Hyperhorean  i*egions.  All  the  fables  of  old 
Greece^  Italy ^  Perjiay  India,  he  derives  from  the  north  ; 
and  it  muft  be  owned,  that  he  maintains  his  paradox 
with  acutenefs  and  learning.  Great  learning  and 
great  acutenefs,  together  with  the  charms  of  a  moft 
engaging  ftyle,  were  indeed  neceflary  to  render  even 
tolerable  a  fyflem  which  places  an  earthly  paradife, 
the  gardens  of  Hefperus,  the  iflands  of  the  Macares, 
the  groves  of  Elyjium,  if  not  of  Eden^  the  heaven 
of  Indra,  the  Teriftan^  or  fairy -land  of  the  Fer- 
Jian  poets,  with  its  city  of  diamonds  and  its 
country  of  Shadeam,  fo  named  from  Pleqfure  and 
Love,  not  in  any  one  climate  wliich  the  common 
fenfe  of  mankind  confiders  as  the  feat  of  de- 
lights, but  beyond  the  mouth  of  the  Oby,  in  the 
Frozen  Sea,  in  a  region  equalled  only  by  that  where 
the  wild  imagination  of  Dante  led  him  to  fix  the 
wdrft   of  criminals  in  a  ftate  of  punilhment  after 


ON  THE  TARTARS*  XJ 

death,  and  of  which  he  could  not^  he  fays,  even  think 
toithout  Jhivering.  A  very  curious  paffage  in  a  traft 
of  Plutarch  on  the  figure  in  the  moor!s  orbj  naturally 
induced  M.  Bailly  to  place  Ogygia  in  the  north  ;  and 
he  concludes  that  ifland,  as  others  have  concluded 
rather  fallacioufly,  to  be  the  Atlantis  of  Plato ;  but 
is  at  a  lofs  to  determine  whether  it  was  Iceland  or 
Greenland.^  Spitzbergen  or  l^ew  Zembla.  Among  (b 
many  charms  it  was  difficult,  indeed,  to  give  a  pre- 
ference ;  but  our  philofopher,  though  as  much  per- 
plexed by  an  option  of  beauties  as  the  fhepherd  of 
Ida  J  feems  on  the  whole  to  think  Zembla  the  moll 
worthy  of  the  golden  fruit ;  becaufe  it  is  indifputably 
an  illand,  and  lies  oppofite  to  a  gulph  near  a  conti- 
nent, from  which  a  great  number  of  rivers  defcendi 
into  the  ocean.  He  appears  equally  diftreffed  among 
five  nations,  real  and  imaginary,  to  fix  upon  that  which 
the  GreeW  named  Atlantes ;  and  his  conclufion  in 
both  cafes  mull  remind  us  of  the  (howman  at  Eton^ 
who,  having  pointed  out  in  his  box  all  the  crowned 
heads  of  the  world,  and  being  alked  by  the  fchool- 
boys  who  looked  through  the  glafs,  which  was  the 
Emperor,  which  was  the  Pope,  which  the  Sultan,  and 
which  the  Great  Mogul,  anfwered  eagerly,  *  Which 
you  pleafe,  young  gentlemen,  which  you  pleafe/  His 
letters,  however,  to  Voltaire^  in  which  he  unfolds  his 
new  fyftem  to  his  friend,  whom  he  had  not  been  able 
to  convince,  are  by  no  means  to  be  derided ;  and  his 
general  propofition,  that  arts  and  fciences  had  their 
fource  in  Tartary^  delerves  a  longer  examination  than 
can  lie  given  to  it  in  this  difcourfe.  I  (hall,  neverthe- 
lefs,  with  your  permiffion,  Ihortly  difcufs  the  queftion 
under  the  feveral  heads,  that  will  prefent  themfelves  in 
order. 

Although  we  may  naturally  fuppofe  that  the 
numberlefs  communities  of  Tartars,  fome  of  whom 
&re  ellablifhed  in  great  cities^  and  fome  encamped 

C4  -' 


Af  THX  FIFTH  DlSCOtTR^S  : 

on  plains  in  ambulatory  manfions,  which  they  retiiove 
from  pafture  to  paflure,  muft  be  as  different  in  their 
features  as  in  their  dialeds ;  yet,  among  thofe  who 
have  not  emigrated  into  another  country^  and  mixed 
with  another  nation,  we  may  difcern  a  ^Etmtly-likenefs, 
cfpecially  in  their  eyes  and  countenance,  and  in  that 
configuration  of  lineaments  which  we  genei[ally  call  a 
Tartar  face  \  but,  without  making  anxious  enquiries^ 
whether  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  vaft  region  before 
defcribed  have  fimilar  features,  we  may  conclude  f rom^ 
diofe  whom  we  have  feen,  and  from  the  original  por- 
traits of  Taimuf  and  his  defcendants,  that  the  Tartan 
in  general  differ  wholly  in  complexion  and  counte- 
nance from  the  Hindus  and  from  the  Arabs :  an  ob- 
lervation  which  tends,  in  fome  degree,  to  confirm  the 
au:counr  given  by  modern  Tartars  themfelves  of  their 
defcent  from  a  common  anceftor.     Unhappily,  their 
lineage  cannot  be  proved  by  authentic  pedigrees,  ot 
hiftorical  monuments ;  for  all  their  writings  extant, 
even  thofe  in  the  il/o^w/dialedt,  are  long  fubfequent  to 
the  time  oiMuhatnmedy  nor  is  it  poflSble  to  diftinguifh 
their  genuine  traditions  from  thofe  of  the  Arabs y  whofe 
religious  opinions  they  have  in  general  adopted.     At 
the   beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  Khwajah 
Rajhidj  furnamed  Fadlullah^  a  native  of  Katvin^  com- 
piled his  account  of  the  Tartars  and  Mongals  from 
the  papers  of  one  PuJad,  whom  the  great-grandfon  or 
Holacu  had  fent  into  Tartarijlan  for  the  fole  purpofe 
of  coUc&ing  hiftorical  information ;    and  the  com^ 
miffion  itfelf  (hows  how  little  the  Tartarian  princes 
really    knew    of    their    own    origin.      From    this 
work  of  Rajhidy  and  from  other  materials,  AbuU 
ghazij  king  of  Khwarezm,  compofed   in   the    M&r 
gul  language  liis  Genealogical  Hijloryy  which,   hav- 
ing been  purchafed  from  a   merchant  of  Bokhara 
by    fome    Swedifi   ofEcers,    prifoners    of    war     in 
Siberia^  has  found    its  way  into  feveral .  European 
tongues :  it  contains  much  valuable  matter^  but,  like 


ON    THE    TARTARS,  If 

all  Muhammedan  hiftofies,  exhibits  tribes  or  nations  as 
individual  fovereigns  ;  and,  if  Baron  De  Tott  had  not 
ftrangely  «negle£ted  to  procure  a  copy  of  the  Tartarian  > 
hiftory,  for  the  origrnal  of  which  he  imnecerffarily  offer- 
ed a  iarge  fum,  we  fliould  probably  have  found  that  it 
begins  with  an  account  of  the  deluge,  taken  from  the 
Koran^  and  proceeds  to  rank  Tz/nr,  Chin^  Tatar,  and 
Mongal^  among  the  fons  of  Yafet.  The  genuine  tra- 
ditional Eiftorj'  of  the  Tartars ,  in  all  thd  books  that  I 
have  infpet9:ed,  feems  to  begin  with  O^huz,  as  that '" 
of  the  Hindus  does  with  Hama :  tHey  pfacc  their  mira- 
culous hero  and  patriarch  four  thoti/and  years  before 
Ci^ti^iz  Kharij  who  was  born^jn  the  year  1164,  and 
with  whofe  reign  their  hiftorical  period  commences- 
It  is  rather  furprizing  that  Mr.  Bad/y,  wlio  makes  fire- 
quent  appeals  to  etymological  arguments,  has  not  de- 
rived Ogyges  from  Oghuz^  and  Atlas  from  Atlaly  or 
the  Golden  Mountain  oi  Tartary:  the  Greek  termina- 
tions might  have  been  rejeded  from  both  words ;  and 
a  m^re  tranfpofition  of  letters  is  no  difSculty  with  aa 
etymologill* 

,  My  remarks  in  this  addrefs,  'Gentlemen,  will  be 
confined  to  the  period  preceding  Chengiz  ;  and,  al- 
though the  learned  labours  of  M.  de  Guignes^  and 
the  Fathers  Visdehuy  DemaiUa^  ap.d  Gaubil^  who  have 
made  an  incomparable  ufe  of  their  Chinefe  literature, 
exhibit  probable  accounts  of  the  Tartars  from  a 
very  early  age ;  yet  the  old  hiftorians  of  Chhia  were 
not  only  foreign,  but  generally  hofcilc  to  them,  and 
for  both-  thofe  reafons,  either  through  ignorance  or 
malignity,  may  be  fufpctfled  of  miiieprefenting 
their  tranfaAions:  if  they  fpeak  truth,  the  anciert 
.hiftory  of  the  lartars  prcfcnts  us,  like  mod  otl  er 
hiftories,  with  a  feries  of  afiaffinations,  plots,  trea^ 
ions,  mafTacres,  and  all  the  natural  fruits  of  fclfifh 
.ambition.  I  fhould  have  no  inclination  to  give 
jou   a    (ketch   of    fuch   horrors,   even  if  the'  oc- 


1 

i 


\'\ ' 


i 


■   \ 

t 

I 


1 


'•;-3 

II-' 


1 

•  1" 


*  > 


••  • 


■  I 

•  ■ 


r  i 

J 
1 

j>      I 

i 


.3 


«6  THE    FIFTH    DISCOURSE: 

cafion  called  for  it ;  and  will  barely  obfen 
the  firft  king  of  the  H^unmuSj  or  HutiSj  be 
reign,  according  to  VisJetmij  aGout  three  \ 
five  hundred  and  Jixty  years  ago^  not  long  a 
time  fixed  in  my  former  difcourfes  for  the  fir! 
hr  eftabliOiments  of  the  Himlus  and  Arabs 

m 

feveral  countries* 


1.  Our  firft  enquiry  concerning  the  langua^ 
letters  of  the  Tartars^  prefents  us  with  a  dej 
void,  or  with  a  profpect  as  barren  and  dreary 
of  their  deferts.     The  Tartars ^  in  general, 
literature  (in  this  point  all  authorities  appear 
cur)  ;  the  Turcs  had  no  letters ;  the  Huns^  ac 
to  Procof'ms^  had  not  even  heard  of  them ;  the 
ficent  Chengizj  whofe  empire  included  an  area 
cigRty  fquare  degrees,  could  find  none  of  1 
Mongals^  as  the  beft  authors  inform  us,  able 
his  difpatches  ;  and  Taimur^  a  lavage  of  ftror 
ral  parts,  and  paffionately  fond  of  hearing 
read  to  him,  could  himfelf  neither  write  nt 
It  is  true  that  Ilmu  jirahjhah  mentions  a  fet 
:  *■  racters  called  Dilberjin^  which  were  ufed  in 

^'  f  *  he  had  feen  them,'  he  fays,  <  and  found 

;  \  *  confift  of /or/y  o«^  letters,  a  diftinft  fymb 

•  appropriated  to  each  long  and  ftiort  vov 
;  '.                    *  to  each  confonant  hard  or  foft,  or  otherwi 

■  -.  •  in  pronunciation  ;'  but  Khata  was  in  South 

^  :!  tary^  on  the  confines  of  India  ;  and,  from  his 

tion  of  the  charaders  th^re  in  ufe,  we  car 
fufped  them  to  have  been  thofe  of  Tibet,  v 
manifeftly  Indian j  bearing  a  greater  refeml 
thofe  of  Bengal  than  to  Devanagari.  The 
and  eloquent  Arab  adds,  *  that  the  Tartars  i 

*  write,    in  the  Dilberjin    letters,  all  their 
« hiftories,    their  journals,  poems,  and    mi( 

*  their  diplomas,  records  of  ftate  and  juftice, 

•  of  Cheng izy  their  public  regifters,  and  their 


•      r 


ON    THE    TARTARS.  fj 

I  *  tlons  of  every  fpecies.'    If  this  be  true,  the  people  of 

\  Khata  muft  have  been  a  poliflbed,  and  even  a  lettered 

^  nation ;   and  it  may  be  true,  without  affeding  the 

\  general  pofition,  that  the  Tartars  were  illiterate  ;  but 

\  Ibnu  jirahjhah  was  a  profeired  rhetorician,  and  it  is 

impofSble  to  read  the  original  palTage  without  full 
convidtion  that  his  objeft  in  writing  it  was  to  difplay 
his  power  of  words  in  a  flowing  and  modulated  pe- 
riod. He  fays  further,  that  in  Jaghataij  the  people  of 
Oighur,  as  he  calls  them,  *  have  a  fyftem  of  fourteen 
*  letters  only,  denominated,  from  themfelyes,  Oighuri-y 
and  thofe  are  the  charaders  which  the  MongaJs  are 
fuppofed,  by  moft  authors,  to  have  borrowed,  jibul" 
gha%i  tells  us  only,  that  Chengiz  employed  the  natives 
of  Eighur  as  excellent  penmen ;  but  the  Chinefe  af- 
fert,  that  he  was  forced  to  employ  them,  becaufe  he 
had  no  writers  at  all  among  his  natural-born  fubjeds  ; 
and  we  are  aflured  by  many,  that  Kublaikhan  ordered 
[*•  letters  to  be  invented  for  his  nation  by  a  Tihetian^ 

whom  he  rewarded  with  the  dignity  of  chief  Lama. 
The  fmall  number  of  Eighuri  letters  might  induce  us 
to  believe  that  they  were  Zend  or  Pahlaviy  which  muft 
have  been  current  in  that  country  when  it  was  go- 
verned by  the  fons  of  Feridun ;  and,  if  the  alphabet 
afcribed  to  the  Eighurians  by  M.  Des  Hautefrayes  be 
corre<5t,  we  may  fafely  decide,  that  in  many  of  its 
letters  it  refembles  both  the  Zend  and  the  Syriac^  with 
a  remarkable  difference  in  the  mode  of  conneding 
them ;  but,  as  we  can  fcarce  hope  to  fee  a  genuine 
fpecimenof  them,  our  doubt  muft  remain  in  regard  to 
their  form  and  origin.  The  page  exhibited  by  Hyde  as 
Khatayan  writing,  is  evidently  a  fort  of  broken  Cufick\ 
and  the  fine  manufcript  at  Oxford^  from  which  it  was 
taken,  is  more  probably  a  Mendeanv^oxV,  on  fome  reli- 
gious fubjecl,  than,  as  he  imagined,  a  code  of  Tarta^ 
rian  laws.  That  very  learned  man  appears  to  have 
•made  a  worfe  miftake,  in  giving  us  for  Mongal  charac- 
ters a  page  of  writing  which  has  the  appearance  of 
Ja^nefe^  or  mutilated  Chinefe  letters. 


i 


aS  THE    FIFTH    DISCOURSE: 

If  the  Tartars  in  general,  as  we  have  every  reafon 
to  believe,  had  no  written  memorials,  it  cannot  be 
thought  wonderful  that  their  languages^  like  thofe  of 
America^  (hould  have  been  in  perpetual  fludluation, 
and  that  more  than  fifty  diale(5ls,  as   Hyde  had  been 
credibly  informed,  (hould  be  fpoken  between  Mqfcow 
»  and  China^  by  the  many  kindred  tribes  or  their  feve- 
ral  branches,  which  are  enumerated  by  Ahulghazi. 
What  thofe  dialefts  are,  and  whether  they  really  {prang 
from  a  common  flock,  we  (hall  probably  learn  from 
Mr.  Pallasj  and  other  indefatigable  men  employed  by 
the  Ruffian  court ;  and  it  is  from  the  Rufsians  that  wc 
xnuft  expedl  the  moft  accurate  information  concerning 
the -/^^z//V  fubjeds :  I  perfuade  myfelf  that,  if  their 
enquiries  be  judicioufly  made  and  faithfully  reported, 
the  refult  of  them  will  prove  that  all  the  languages 
profferly  Tat  tartan j  arofe  from  one  common  fource; 
excepting  always  the  jargons  of  fuch  wanderers  or 
mountaineers  as,  having  long  been  divided  from  the 
main  body  of  the  nation,  muft,  in  a  courfe  of  ages, 
have  framed  feparate  idioms  for  themfelves.     The 
ohly  Tartarian  language  X)f  which  I  have  any  know- 
ledge, is  the  T.urkijh  c^  Conjiantinoplej  which  is  how* 
ever  fo  copioi^  that  whoever  (hall  know  it  perfeftly, 
will  e^'fily  underftand,  as  we  are  affured  by  intelligent 
authors,  the  dialefts  of  Tartarijtan ;  and  we  may  col- 
left  from  Abul^haziy  that  he  would  find  little  diffi- 
culty in  the  Calmac  and  the  Mogul.     I  will  not  offend 
your  ears  by  a  dry  catalogue  of  fimilar  words  in  thofe 
different  languages.;  but  a  careful  inveftigation  has 
convinced  me  that,  as  the  Indian  and  Arahian  tongues 
are  feverally  defcended  from  a  common  parent,  fo 
thofe  of  Tartary  might   be  traced  to  One  ancient 
flem,  effentially  differing  from  the  two  others.     It 
appears,  indeed,  from  a  flory  told  by  Ahulghaxi^  that 
the  Virats  and  the  Mongals  could  not  underftand  each 
other;/  but  no  more  can  the  Danes  and  the  Englijhy 
yet  their  dialeds,  beyond  a  doubt^  are  branches  of 


ON    THE    TARTARSr  I9 

dhc  (amc  Gothic  tree.    The  dialeft  of  the  Moguls^  in 
which  fomc  hiftories  of  Taimur  and  his  defcendants 
were  originally  compofed,  is  called  in  India ^  where  a 
learned  iji^cive  fct  me  right  when  I  ufed  another  word, 
Turci ;  Rot  that  it  is  prccifely  the  fame  with  the  Turk^ 
i/h  of  the  Othmanhis^  but  the  two^idioms  differ,  per- 
haps, lefs  than  Swedijh  and  German^  or  Spanijh  and 
Portuguefey  and  certainly  lefs  than   Weljh  and  Irijh. 
In  hope  of  afcertaining  this  point,  I  have  long  fearch* 
ed  in  vain  for  the  original  works  afcribed  to  Taimur 
and  Baberi  but  all  the  Moguls  with  whom  I  have 
converfed  in  this  country,  refemble  the  crow  in  one 
of  their  popular  fables,  who,  having,  long  afFefted  to 
walk  like  a  pheafant,  was  unable,  after  all,  to  acquire 
the  gracefulnefs  of  that  elegant  bird,  and  in  the  mean 
time  forgot  his  own  natural  gait.     They  have  not 
learned  the  dialed  of  Perjia^  but  have  wholly  forgot- 
ten that  of  their  anceftors.     A  very  confiderable  part 
of  the  old  Tartarian  language,  which  in  Afta  would 
probably  have  been  loft,  is  happily  preferved  in  Eu^ 
rope-,  and,  ifthe,ground-work  of  the  weftern  Turhjh^ 
when  feparated  from  the  Perjian  and  Arahic^  with 
which  it  is  embellifhed,  be  a  branch  of  the  loft  Oghu- 
%tan  tongue,   I  can  affert  with  confidence  that  it  has 
not  the  leaft  refemblance  either  to  Arabic  or  Sanfcrif^ 
and  muft  have  been  invented  by  a  race  of  men  wholly 
diftind  from  the  Arabs  or  Hindus.     This  fad  alone 
overfets  the  fyftem  of  M.  Bailly^  who  confiders  the 
Sanfcrit,  of  which  he  gives  in  feveral  places  a  moft 
erroneous  account,  as  *  A  fine  monument  of  his  prime-' 
*  val  Scythians,  the  preceptors  of  mankind y  and  plant- 
^  ers  of  a  fublime  phdofophy  even  in  India ;'  for  he 
holds  it  an  inconteftable  truth,  that  a  language  which 
is  dead  J  fuppofes  a  nation  which  is  defiroyed ;  and  he 
'  feems  to  think  fuch  reafoning  perfedly  decifive  of 
the  queftion,  without  having  recourfe  to  aftronomical 
arguments,  or  the  fpirit  of  ancient  inftitutions.     For 
toy  part,  I  ^efire  no  better  proof  than  that  which  the 


JO  THE    FIFTH   DISCOURSE: 

language  df  the  Brakmahs  affords,  of  an  immemorial 
and  total  difference  between  thcfavages  of  the  moun' 
iainsy  as  the  old  CZfmg/^  juftly  called  the  Tartars^  and 
the  ftvidious,  placid,  contemplative  inhabitants  of  thefc 
Indian  plains. 

II.  The  geographical  xt'^{ox{\Vi^  of  M.  BaiUy  may, 
perhaps,  be  thought  equally  (hallow,  if  not  inconfift- 
ent  in  fome  degree  with  itfelf.     *  An  adoration  of  the 

*  fun  and  of  fire,'  fays  he,   ^  muft  neceiTarily  have 

*  arifen  in  a  cold  region  ;  therefore  it  muft  ha^e  been 

*  foreign  to  Indta^  P^rfia,  Arahia ;  therefore  it  muft 

*  have  been  derived  from  Tartary^  No  man,  I  be- 
lieve, who  has  travelled  in  winter  through  Bahar^  or 
has  even  paflTed  a  cold  feafon  at  Calcutta  within  the 
tropic,  can  doubt  that  the  folar  warmth  is  often  de- 
firable  by  all,  and  might  have  been  confidered  as  ado- 
rable by  the  ignorant  in  thefe  climates;  or  that  the 
return  of  fpring  deferves  all  the  falutations  which  ic 
receives  from  the  Perfian  and  Indian  poers ;  not  to 
rely  on  certain  hiftorical  evidence,  that  Antarah^  a 
celebrated  warrior  and  bard,  adlually  perifhed  with 
cold  on  a  mountain  of  Arahia.  To  meet,  hov/eyer, 
an  objedion  which  might  naturally  enough  be  made 
to  the  voluntary  fettlement  and  amazing  population 
of  his  primitive  race,  in  the  icy  regions  of  the  north, 
he  takes  refuge  in  the  hypothefis  of  M.  Biijfony  who 
imagines  that  our  whole  globe  was  at  firft  of  a  white 
heat,  and  has  been  gradually  cooling  from  the  poles  of 
the  equator ;  fo  thar  the  Hyperborean  countries  had 
once  a  delightful  temp^-rature ;  and  Siberia  itfelf  was 
hotter  than  the  climate  of  our  temperate  -zones  ;  that  is, 
was  in  too  hot  a  climate,  by  his  firft  propofition,  for 
the  primary  worfliip  of  the  fun.  That  the  tempera,- 
ture  of  countries  has  not  fuftained  a  change  in  the 
lapfe  of  ages,  I  will  by  no  means  infift ;  but  we  can 
hardly  realbn  conclufivdy  from  a  variation  of  tempe- 
rature to  the  cultivation  and  difFufion  of  (cience.  If  ^ 
many  female  elephants  arid  tigrelTes  as  we  now  find  in 


ON    THE    TARTARS.  31 

Bengal  had  formerly  littered  in  the  Siberian  forefts, 
and  the  young,  as  the  earth  cooled,  had  fought  a  ge- 
nial warmth  in  the  climate  of  the  fouth,  it  would  not 
follow  that  other  favages,  who  migrated  in  the  fame 
dire&ion,  and  on  the  fame  account,  brought  religion 
and  philofophy,  language  and  writing,  art  and  fcience, 
into  the  fouthern  latitudes. 

We  are  told  by  jihulghazi  that  the  primitive  reli- 
gion of  human  creatures,  or  the  pure  adoration  of  one 
Creator,  prevailed  in  Tartary  during  the  firft  genera- 
tions of  Yafet^  but  was  ektinft  before  the  birth  of 
OghuZf  who  reftored  it  in  his  dominions ;  that,  fome 
ages  after  him,  the  Mongals  and  the  Turcs  relapfed 
into  grofs  idolatry ;  but  that  Chengiz  was  a  Theift, 
and,  in  a  converfation  with  the  Muhamfnedan  doftors, 
admitted  their  arguments  for  the  being  and  attributes 
of  the  Deity  to  be  unanfwerable,  while  he  contefted 
the  evidence  of  their  prophet's  legation.     From  old- 
Grecian  authorities  we  learn  that  the  Majjaget^  wor- 
fliipped  the  fun;  and  the  narrative  ot  an  embafly 
from  Jiiftin  to  the  Rhahen^  or  emperor,  who  then  re- 
fided  in  a  fine  vale  near  the  fource  of  the  Irtijh^  men- 
tions the  Tartarian  ceremony  of  purifying  the  Roman 
ambafiadors  by  conducting  them  between  two  fires. 
The  Tartars  of  that  age  are  reprefented  as  adorers  of 
the ybwr  elements^  and  believers  in  an  invifible  fpirit, 
to  whom  ,they  facrificed  bulls  and  rams.      Modern 
travellers  relate,  that,  in  the  feftivals  of  fome  Tarta* 
rian  tribes,  they  pour  a  few  drops  of  a  confecrated  . 
liquor  on  the  ftatues  of  their  gods;    after  which  an 
attendant  fprinkles  a  little  ot   what  remains  three 
times  toward  the  fouth,  in  honour  of  fire;  toward 
the  weft  and  eaft,  in  honour  of  water  and  air ;   and 
as  often  toward  the  north,  in  honour  of  the  earth, 
which  contained  the  reliques  of  their  deceafed  an- 
ceftors.       Now  all  this  may  be  very  true,  without 
proving  a  national   affinity   between    the    Tartars 


32  /THE    FIFTH    DISCOURSE: 

and  Hindtis ;  for  the  Arabs  adored  the  planets 
the  beauties  of  Nature;  the  Arabs  had  carved  ii 
ges^  and  made  libations  on  a  black  done ;  the  Ai 
turned  in  prayer  to  different  quarters  of  the  \ 
vens;   yet  we  know  with  certainty,  that  the  At 
are  a  diftirtft  race  from  the  Tartars ;  and  we  mi 
as  well  infer  that  they  were  the  fame  people,  bec2 
they  had  each  their  NomadeSy  or  wanderers  for  pa^t 
and  becaufe  the  Turcmans,  defcribed   by  Ibmuat 
Jhahy  and  by  him  called  Tartars^  are,  like  moji  A 
hian  tribes,    paftoral   and   warlike,    hofpitable    j 
generous,  wintering  and  fummering  on  different  pla 
and  rich  in  herds  and  flocks,  horfes  and  camels  : 
this  agreenliAt  in  manners  proceeds  from  the  fi 
lar  nature  of  their  feveral  deferts,  and  their  fim 
choice  of  a  free  rambling  life,  without  evincir 
community  of  origin,  which  they  could  fcarce 
had  without  preferving  fome  remnant  at  lead 
common  language. 

Many  Lamas ^  we  are  affured,  or  priefts  of  Buc 
have  been  found  fettled  in  Siberia  ;  byt  it  can  hi 
be  doubted  that   the  Lamas  had   travelled   th 
'   from  Tibet ;  whence  it  is  more  than  probable, 
the  religion  of  the  BaiuJdhas  was  imported  into  Si 
ern,  or  Chinefe  Tartary ;  fince  we  know  that  xi 
Tibetian  writing  have  been  brought  even  fro' 
borders  of  the  Cafpian.     The  complexion  of  i 
himfelf,  which,  according  to  the  Hindus ^  was  / 
white  and  ruddy  y  woJld  perhaps  have  con  vine 
Baillvj  had  he  known  the  Indian  tradition,  t 
laft  great  legiflator  and  god  of  the  eaft  was  ; 
ti2r'y    but  the  Chinefe  confider  him   as  a  nf 
India  \   the  Brahmans  infift  that  he  was  bo 
foreft  near  Gaya  ;  and  many  reafons  may  lea 
fufpeft,  that  his  religion  was  carried  from 
and  the  fouth,  to  thofe  eaftern  and  northc 
tri^s  in  which  it  prevails.     On  the  whole^ 


ON    THE    TARTAI^S.  33 

vrith  few  or  no  traces  in  Scythia  of  Indian  rites  and 
fuperilitions,  or  of  that  poetical  mythology  with 
which  the  Sanfcrit  poems  are  decorated  ;  and  we  may 
allow"" the  Tartars  to  have  adored  the  Sun  with  more 
reafon  than  any  fouthern  people,  without  admitting 
them  to  have  been  the  fole  original  inventors  of  tliat 
univerial  folly.  We  may  even  doubt  the  originality  of 
their  veneration  for  the  yi?«r^/<?w^;i/^,  which  forms  a 
principal  part  of  the  ritual  introduced  by  Zer<ilu/ht\  a 
native  of  Rai  in  Perfia^  born  in  the  reign  of  Gufh^ 
tafp^  whofe  fon  Pashuten  is  believed  by  the  Parjis 
to-have  refided  long  in  Tartary^  at  a  place  called  Cati'- 
gidizy  where  a  ihagnificent  palace  is  faid  to  have  been 
built  by  the  father  of  Cyrus,  and  where  the  Perjian 
prince,  who  was  a  zealot  in  the  new  faith,  would  na-s 
tiirally  have  diffeminated  its  tenets  among  the  neigh-^ 
bouring  Tartars^ 

Of  any  philofophy,  except  natural  ethics,  which  the 
rudeft  fociety  requires  and  experience  teaches,  we  find 
no  more  veftiges  in  AJiatic  Scythia  than  in  ancient  Ara* 
hia ;  nor  would  the  name  of  aphilofopher  and  a  Scythian 
have  ever  been  connected,  if  Anacharjis  had  not  vi- 
fited  Athens  and  Lydia  for  that  inftruftion,  which  his 
birth-place  could  not  have  afforded  him :  but  Ana^^ 
tharjis  was  the  Ton  of  a  Grecian  woman,  who  had 
taught  him  her  language ;  and  he  foon  learned  to  de- 
fpife  his  own.  He  was  unqueftionably  a  man  of  \ 
found  underftanding  and  fine  parts ;  and,  among  th^ 
lively  fayings  which  gained  him  the  reputation  of  a 
wit  even  in  Greece,  it  is  related  by  Diogenes  Laertiiis^ 
that,  when  an  Athenian  reproached  him  with  being  a 
Scythian,  heanfwered,  ^  My  country  is,  indeed,  a  dif- 
*  grace  to  me;  but  thou  art  a  difgrace  to  thy  country,- 
What  his  country  was,  in  regard  to  manners  and  civil 
duties,  we  may  learn  from  his  fate  in  it;  for  when,  oa 
Jiis  return  from  Athens,  he  attempted  to  reform  it  by 
introducing  the  wife  laws  of  his  frieij4  Sohn:^  he  WfB 


34  THE    FIFTH   DISCOURSE: 

killed  on  a  hunting  party  with  an  arrow,  fliot  by  hif 
own  brother,  a  Scythian  chieftain.  Such  was  the 
philofophy  of  M.  Bailiff  Atlanles^  the  firfl;  and  moft 
enlightened  of  nations  !  We  are  aflbred,  however,  by 
the  learned  author  of  the  Dahiftatiy  that  the  Tartars 
under  Chengjz,  and  his  defcendants,  were  lovers  of 
truth,  and  would  not  even  preferve  their  lives  by  a^ 
violation  of  it.  De  Guignes  afcribes  the  fame  veracity 
the  parent  of  air*virtues,  to  the  Huns-j  znd  St ropo^ 
wftO'migHt~6hTy  nieali  to  lafh  the  Gi^eeks  by  praifing 
Barbarians,  as  Horace  extolled  the  wandering  Scj/thiatis 
merely  to  fatirize  his  luxurious  countrymen,  intoFRas 
us  that  the  nations  of  Scythia  deferve  the  praife  due 
to  wildom,  heroic  friendfhip,  and  juftice ;  and  this, 
praife  we  may  readily  allow  them  on  his  authority, 
without  fuppofing  them  to  have  been  the  preceptors 
of  mankind. 

r 
f 

As  to  the  laws  of  Zamolxis^  concerning  whom  We 
know  as  little  as  of  the  Scythian  Deucalion^  or  of 
Abaris  the  Hyperborean^  and  to  whole  ftory  even  jFfe-^ 
fodotus  gave  no  credit,  I  lament,  for  many  reafonSj 
that  if  ever  they  exifted  they  have  not  been  preferved.. 
It  is  certain  that  a  fyftem  of  laws,  called  Yafac^  has  been 
celebrated  in  lartary  fince  the  time  of  Chengiz^  who^ 
is  faid  to  have  republiflied  them  in  his  empire,  as  hi^ 
inftitutions  were  afterwards  adopted  and  enforced  by 
laimur ;  but  they  feem  to  have  been  a  common  or 
traditionary  law,  land  were  probably  not  reduced  inro 
writing  till  Chengiz  h3idi  concj^txed,  a  nation  who  were 
able  to  write. 

III.  Had  the  religious  opinions  and  allegorical  fables 
of  the  Hindus  been  aftually  borrowed  from  Scythia, 
travellers  muft  have  difcovered  in  that  country  fome 
Ancient  monuments  of  them;  fuch  as  pieces  of  gro- 
lefque  fculpture,  images  of  the  Gods  and  AvatarSi 


ON    THE   TARTARS,  35 

and  infcripiions  on  pillars  or  in  caverns,  analogous  to 
thofe  which  remain  in  every  -part  of  the  weftern 
peninfula,  or  to  thofe  which  many  of  us  have  feen  in 
B<ihar  and  at  Banares  5  but  (except  a  few  detached 
idols)  the  only  great  monuments  of  Tartarian  anti- 
quity are  in  a  line  of  ramparts  on  the  weft  and  eaft  of 
the  Cq/pian,  afcribed  indeed  by  igporant  Miifelmans  to 
2^£i2^^fld  .t^^2^>  or  Gog  and  Magog ;  that  is,  to  the 
^cphiansy  but  ixianifeftly  raifed  by  a  very  different 
nation,  in  order  to  Hop  their  predatory  inroads  through 
the  paffes  of  Caucafus.  The  Chinefe  wall  was  built, 
or  finiflied,  on  a  (imilar  conllrudlion  and  for  a  fimilar 
purpofe,  by  an  emperor,  who  died  only  two  hundred 
and  ten  years  before  the  beginning  of  our  sera;  and 
the  other  mounds  were  very  probably  conftrufted  by 
the  old  PcrJianSy  though,  like  many  works  of  unknown 
origin,  they  are  given  to  Secander,  not  the  Macedo-' 
niauy  but  a  more  ancient  hero,  fuppofed  by  fome  to 
hvfc  h^cn  Jemshid.  It  is  related,  that  pyramids  and 
ton^bs  have  been  found  \n  Tatariflan,  or  fVeftern  Scy^ 
thm^  and  fome  remnants  of  edifices  in  the  lake  Sai^ 
Jon ;  that  veftiges  of  a  deferted  city  have  been  recently 
difeovered  by  the  Ruffians  near  the  Cafpian  Sea,  and 
the  Mountain  of  Eagles  ;  and  that  golden  ornaments 
and  utenfils,  figures  of  elks  and  other  quadrupeds  in 
metal,  weapons  of  various  kinds,  and  even  imple- 
ments for  mining,  but  made  of  copper  inftead  of 
iron,  have  been  dug  up  in  the  country  of  the  TJIiudes\ 
whence  M.  Bailly  infers,  with  great  reafon,  the  high 
antiquity  of  that  people  :  but  the  high  antiquity  of 
the  Tartars^  and  their  eitablifiiment  in  that  country 
near  four  thoufand.  years  ago,  no  man  difputes;  we 
.  are  inquiring  into  their  ancient  religion  and  philofophy; 
which  neither  ornaments  of  gold  nor  tools  of  copper 
will  prove  to  have  had  an  arfinity  wirh  the  reliyjous 
rites,  and  the  fciences  of  India.  The  golden  utenfils 
might  polSbly  have  been  fabricated  by  ihc  Tartars 


V 


i 


iirin 


'X. 


i\\, 


I.- 


36  THE    FIFTH    DISCOURSE  : 

themfelves ;  but  it  is  pofEble  too,  that  they  v 
Tied  from  Rome  or  from   Ch'ma^   whence  o< 
embafiies  were  fent  to  the  kings  of  Eighur.    ' 
the  end  of  the  tenth  century  the  Chinefe  emp 
patched  an  ambaflador  to  a  prince,  named 
which,  in  the  Turkijh  of   Coriftantinophy   fi| 
lion^  who  refided  near  the  Golden  Mountain  \ 
fame  ftation,  perhaps,  where  the  Romans  had 
ceived  in  the  piiddle  of  the  fixth  century.   Th 
on  his  return  home  reported  the  Eighuris  to  b 
people,  with  fair  complexions,  diligent  worki 
irigenious  artificers  not  only  in  gold,  filverj  j 
but  in  jafper  and  fine  ftones  \  and  the  Roman 
fore  defcribed  their  magnificent  reception  ; 
palace  adorned  with  Chinefe  manufaftures  : 
times  were  comparatively  modern  j  and,  e^ 
(hould  admit  that  the  Eighuris,  who  are  fai 
been  governed  for  a  period  of  two  thoufanc 
an  Idecut,  or  fovereign,  of  their  own  race 
fome  very  early  age  a  literary  and  poliflied 
would  prove  nothing  in  favour  of  the  Hurt 
Mongals,  and  other  lavages  to  the  north  of  / 
feem  in  all  ages  before  Muhammedj   to  1 
equally  ferocious  and  illiterate, 

Without  aftual  infpeflion  of  the  manuf 
have  beer^  found  near  the  Cafpian,  it  woi 
poflible  to  give  a  correft  opinion  concern 
but  one  of  them%  defcribed  as  written  on 
paper  in  letters  of  gold  and  filver,  not  unlik 
was  probably  a  Tiheiiati  compofition  of  the 
with  that  of  which  lay  near  the  fource  of  tlie 
of  which  CafsianOy  1  believe,  made  the  fi: 
verfionf  ^  Another,  if  we  may  judge  from  t 
tion  of  it,  was  probably  modern  Turhijh\  2 
them  could  have  been  of  great  antiquity, 

IV.  From  ancient  monuments,  therefor 


ON    THE    TARTARS^  §f 

h6  proof  that  the  Tartars  were  themfelves  welUin- 
ftruqed^  m  that  thefy  inftrufted  the  world; 

iior  have  we  any  ftVonger  realbh  to  conclude  from  their 
general  manners  and  charafter,  that  they  had  made  aa 
early  proficiency  in  arts  ^nd  Jciences.  Even  of  poetry^ 
the  moft  univerfaTand  moft  natural  of  the  fine  arts^ 
we  find  no  genuine  fpecimens  afcribed  to  theih,  ex- 
cept fome  horrible  wai*-fongs  exprefled  in  Ferjian  by 
All  of  Yezdj  and  poflibly  invented  by  him.  After 
the  conqueft  of  Perfia  by  the  Mongols ^  their  princesl 
indeed  encouraged  learning,  and  even  made  aftrond'- 
toical  obfervations  at  Samarkand^  as  the  Turc  becamd 
poliftied  by  mixing  with  the  Perjidns  and  Arahsy 
though  their  very  nature ^  as  one  of  their  own  writerSI 
confefles,  had  before  been  like  an  incurable  difterfiper^ 
and  their  minds  clouded  with  ignorance :  thus  alfb  jthe 
Manchea  nionarchs  of  China  have  been  patrons  of  thfiJ 
learned  and  ingenious  5  and  the  Emperor  Kien  Long 
is,  if  he  be  iiow  living,  a  fine  Chinefe  poet.  In  all 
thefe  inftances  the  Tartars  have  refenibled  the  iJo- 
nians^  who,  before  they  had  fubdued  Greece j  were 
little  better  than  tigers  in  war,  and  Jawns  or  Jylvani 
in  fcience  and  art* 

Before^!  left  J^ztrope^  t  had  infifted  in  conVerfation^ 
that  the  Tuzuc,  tranflated  by  Major  Davy^  was  never 
written  i)y  Taimur  himlelf,  at  leaft  not  as  Cafar  wrote? 
his  Commentaries,  for  one  Very  plain  reafon,  that  no 
^^  •  Tartarian  king  of  his  age  could  write  at  all  j  and,  in 

P^  \  fijpport  of  ray  opinion,  I  had  cited  Ibnu  Arabjhah^  who, 

though  juftly  hoftile  to  the  favage  by  whom  his  na-j 
tive  city,  Damafcus^  had  been  ruined,  vet  praifes  his 
talents  and  the  real  greatnefs  of  his  mind  5  but  adds, 
"  He  was'  wholly  illiterate  1  he  neither  red  nor  wrote 
**  any  thing ;  and  he  kndw  nothing  of  Arabic  5 
"  though  of  Per/tan^  TurhiJIi^  and  the  Mogul  dialed:, 
*^  he  knew  as  much  as  was  fufTicient  for  his  purpofe, 
and  no  more.  He  ufed  with  pleafure  to  hear  hiftories 

P3 


•€ 


i 


3^  ^    THE    FIFTH    DISCOURSE: 

•*  read  to  him,  and  fo  frequently  heard  the  fame  book,' 
**  that  he  was  able  by  itiemory  to  correft  an  inaccurate 
*^  reader."  I'his  paflage  had  no  effed  on  the  trahf* 
lator,  whom  great  atul  learned  men  in  India  had  of- 
Jured^  it  feems,  that  the  work  was  authentic,  by  which 
he  meant  compqfed  by  the  conqueror  him/elf:  but  thef 
great  in  this  country  might  have  been  unlearned,  or 
the  learned  might  not  have  been  great  enough  tb  an-^ 
fwer  any  leading  queftion  in  a  manner  that  oppofed 
the  declared  inclination  of  a  Britijh  inquirer ;  and," 
m  either  cafe,  fince  no  witneffes  are  named,  fo  gene- 
ral a  reference  to  them  will  hardly  be  thought  conclu- 
live  evidence.  On  my  part,  I  will  name  a  Mufehnartj 
whom  we  all  know,'  and  who  has  enough  both  of 
greatnefs  and  of  learning  to  decide  the  queftion  both 
impartially  and  fatisfaftorily :  The  Nawwah  Mozaffer 
Jang  informed  me  of  his  own  accord,  that  no  man 
of  fenfe  in  Ilindnjlan  believed  the  work  to  have  been 
compofed  by  Tahnur,  but  that  his  favourite,  furnamed 
ITmdu  Shah,  was  known  to  have  written  that  book  and 
others,  afcribed  to  his  patron,  after  many  confidential 
.  difcourfes  with  the  E??iir,  and  perhaps  nearly  in  the 
prince's  words  as  well  as  in  his  perfon :  a  ftory  which 
j4li  of  Yezd,  who  attained  the  court  of  Taimur,  and 
has  given  us  a  flowery  panegyric  inltead  of  hiftory, 
renders  highly  probable,  by  confirming  the  latter  part 
of  the  Arabian  account,  and  by  a  total  filence  as  to  the 
literary  produftions  of  his  maften  It  is  true,  that  a 
very  ingenious  but  indigent  native,  whom  Davy{\Mp^ 
f>orted,  has  given  me  a  written  memorial  on  the  fub- 
jedt,  in  which  he  mentions  Taimur  as  the  author  of 
two  works  in  Turkijh\  but  the  credit  of  his  informa- 
tion is  overfet  by  a  ftrange  apocryphal  ftory  of  a  king 
of  Yemen^  who  invaded,  he  fays,  the  Emir*s  domi- 
nions, and  in  whofe  library  the  manufcript  was  after- 
wards found,  and  tranflated  by  order  of  Alijhir,  firft 
minifter  of  Taimur  %  grandfon;  and  Major  Davy  him-. 


1 


xydkf 
urate 
ranf- 

/hich 
It  the 
J,  or 

0  an- 
pofed 

and, 
gene- 
)nclu- 

ith   of 

1  both 
zaffer 
D  man 
5  been 
lamed 
)k  and 
ieniial 
in  the 
which 
r,  and 
i  ft  cry, 
sr  part 

to  the 
that  a 
jy  fup- 
le  fub- 
hor  of 
?brma- 
a  king 
domi- 
;  after- 
r,  firft 
y  hira- 


ON  THE  TARTARS.  ,3 

fclf,  before  he  departed  from  Bengal^  told  me,  ths 
he  was  greatly  perplexed  by  finding  in  a  very  ac 
curate  and  old  copy  of  the  Tuzucy  which  he  defigne< 
to  republifh  with  confiderable  additions,  a  particuls 
account,  written  unqueftionably  by  Taimur^  of  his  ow 
death.  No  evidence,  therefore,  has  been  adduce 
to  (hake  my  opinion,  that  the  Moguls  and  Tartan 
before  their  conqueft  of  India  and  Perjia^  were  whoU 
unlettered  ;  although  it  may  be  poffible  that,  eve 
without  art  or  fcience,  they  had,  like  the  Htms^  bot 
warriors  and  lawgivers  in  tlieir  own  country  fbme  cer 
tunes  before  the  birth  of  Chrift. 

If  learning  was  ever  anciently  cultivated  in   tl 

region  to  the  north  of  Itidiaj  the  feats  of  it,  I  ha\ 

reafbn  to  fufpeft  mud  have  been  EighiiTy  Cajhgha% 

Khatay  Chitiy  Tancuty  and  other  countries  of  Chinej 

Tartaryy  which  lie  between  the  thirty-fifth  and  fort) 

fifth  degrees  of  northern  latitude ;  but  I  (hall,  in  ar 

other   difcourfe,  produce  my  reafons  for  fuppo(in 

that  thofe  very  countries  were  peopled  by  a  race  allie 

to  the  Hindus,  or  enlightened  at  lead  by  their  vie 

.miy  io  India  and  China -,  yet  in  Tancuty  which  b 

fome  is  annexed  to  Tibet y  and  even  among  its  ol 

inhabitants,  the  Seres y  we  have  no  certain  accounts  < 

uncommon  talents  or  great  improvements  :  they  wei 

.famed,  indeed,  for  the  faithful  difcharge  of  mor 

duties,  for  a  pacific  difpofition,  and  for  that  long 

vity  which  is  often  the  reward  of  patient  virtues  and 

.calm  temper  5  but  they  are  faid  to  have  been  whol 

indifferent  in  former  ages  to  the  elegant  arts,  and  eve 

.to  commerce;  though  tadluHlah  had  been  informer 

that  near  the  clofe  of  the  thirteenth  century  mar 

branches   of  natural  philofophy  were  cultivated  ; 

Camcheuy  then  the  metropolis  ofSerica. 

We  may  readily  believe  thofe,  who  afTure  us,  th 

D4 


i 


46  THfe  FIFTH  DtS(!OttftS£  ! 

^  fome  tribes  of  wandering  Tartars  had  real  :ikL  _^ 
plying  herbs  and  minerals  to  the  purpofe  c^^ 

j  cine,  and  pretended  to  fkill  in  magic ;  but  t  V^^. 
ral  charafter  of  their  nation  feems  to  have  b  ^*^ 
They  were  profeffed  hunters  or  fifhers,  dw  ^J 
that  account  in  forefts  or  near  great  rivers,  wtid 
or  rude  tents,  or  in  waggons  drawn  by  then 
from  ftation  to  ftation ;  they  were  dexterous  ^ 
excellent  horfeman,  bold  combatants,  appeariiv 
to  flee  in  diforder  for  the  fake  of  renewing  theirs 
with  advantages ;   drinking  the  milk  of  mares, 
eating  the  flefh  of  colts ;   and  thus  in  many  ref 
refembing  the  old  Arahs^  but  io  nothing  more 
in  their  love  of  intoxicating  liquors,  and  in  no%^^^^ 
lefs  than  in  a  tafte  for  poetry  and  the  improven^^ 
of  their  language. 

Thus  has  it  been  proved,  and,  in  my  humble  o^,^^ 
nion,  beyond  controv'eify,  that  the  far  greater  part  of 
jijia  has  been  peopled  and  imrnemorially  poffeffed  by 
three  confiderable  nations,  whom,  for  v»'ant  of  better 
names,  we  may   call  Hindus^  Arabs ^  and  Tartar^^: 
tach  of  them  divided  and  fubdivided  into  an  infinite 
number  of  branches,  and  all  of  them  fo  different  in 
form  and  features,  language,  manners,  and  religion, 
that,  if  they  fprang  originally  from  a. common  root, 
they  muft  have  been  feparated  for  ages.  Whether  more 
than  three  primitive  flocks  can  be  found,  or,  in  other 
words,  whether  the  Chinefe,  Jaj^aneje^  and  Perjians^^ 
are  entirely  diftindl  from  them,  or  formed  by  iheir  in- 
termixture, I  (hall  hereafter,  if  your  indulgence  to  me 
continue,   diligently  inquire.     To  what  conclufions 
thefe  inquiries  will  lead,  I  cannot  yet  clearly  difcern; 
but,  if  they  lead  to  truth,  we  fhall  not  regret  our 
journey  through  ihis  dark  region  of  ancient  hiftory,. 
in  which,  >vhile  we  proceed  ftep  by  ftep,  and  follow 
every  glimmering  of  certain  light  that  prefenia  itfelf. 


ON    THE    TARTARS.  4I 

we  niufl:  beware  of  thofe  falfe  rays  and  luminous  va- 
pours which  miflead  AJtahc  travellers,  by  an  appear- 
ance of  water,  but  are  found  on  a  near  approach  to 
be  deferts  of  fand. 


V. 


III. 


/ 


THE  SIXTH 


DISCOURSE: 


ON     THE 


PERSIANS. 


DELIVERED  I9  FEBRUARY,  l*]^^i 


Gentlemen^ 

I  TURN  with  delight  from  the  vaft  mountains  and 
barrel  deferts  of  Turauj  over  which  we  travelled 
laffi  year  with  no  perfed:  knowledge  of  our  courfe,  and 
requeft  you  now  to  accompany  me  on  a  literary  jour- 
,  ney  through  one  of  the  moft  celebrated  and  moft 
beautiful  coufttrres  in  ttie  world  :  a  country/the  hif- 
tory  and  languages  of  which,  both  ancient  and  mo- 
dern, I  have  long  attentively  ftudied,  and  on  which 
I  may  without  arrogance  promife  you  more  pofitive 
information  than  I  could  poffibly  procure  on  a  na- 
tion fo  dilunited  and  fo  unlettered  as  the  Tartars^:  I 
mean  that  ^\\vAiJEsuropeans  improperly  call  Perfia^ 
the  name  of  a  fingle  province  being  applied  to  tHe 
whole  empire  of  Irariy  as  it  is  corredly  denominated 
by  the  prefent  natfves  of  it,  and  by  the  learned  MiifeU 
nam  who  refide  in  thefe  Britijh  territories.  To  give 
you  an  account  of  its  largeft  boundaries,  agreeably  to 
xay  former  mode  of  defcribing  India^  Arabia^  and 


44  'THE    SIXTH    DISCOURSE  f 

Tartary^  bet\Veen  which  it  lies,  let  us  begin  with  tfecf 
Iburce  of  the  great  AJfyrian  ftream  Euphrates  (as  thd 
Greeks y  according  to  their  cuftom,  were  pleafed  to 
mifcall  the  Forat)  and  thence  defcend  to  its  mouth 
in  the  Green  Sea,  or  Perjiaft  Gulf,  including  in  ouir 
line  fome  Confiderable  diftrids  and  towil^  on  both 
fides  of  the  river ;  then,  coafting  Perfta^  properly  {o 
named,  and  other  Iranian  provinces,  we  come  to  the 
Delta  of  the  Sindhu  or  Incms ;  whence  afcending  to 
the  mountains  of  Cajhghar,  we  discover  its  fountains 
and  thofe'of  the  Jaihuny  down  which  we  are  conduft- 
ed  to  the  Cajpian,  which  formerly  perhaps  ic  entered, 
though  it  lofes  itfelf  now  in  the  fands  and  lakes  of 
Kkivarezn.  We  next  are  led  from  the  Sea  of  Khozar^ 
by  the  banks  of  ^  the   Cwr,  or  Cyrus ^  and  along  thjd 
Cauca/ean   ridges  to  the  fliore  of  The   Euxine^   and 
thence  by  the  feveral  Grecian  Seas  to  the  point  whence 
we  took  our  departure,  at  no  confiderable  diftance 
from  the  Mediterranean.     We  cannot  but  include  the 
Lower  Afta  within  this  outline,  becaufe  it  was  un- 
queftionably  a  part  of  the  Perjian^  if  not  of  the  old 
Ajjyrian  empire;  for  we  know  that  it  was  under  the 
dominion  of  Caikhofrau;  and  Diodorits^  we  find,  af- 
ens,"^  that  the  kingdom  of  Troas  was  dependent  oH 


AJfyrta^  fince  Priam  implored  and  obtained  fiiccours 
from  his  emperor  Teutantes,  whofe  name  approaches 
nearer  to  Tahmuras  than  to  that  of  any  other  AJJy^ 
rian  monarch.  Thus  may  we  look  on  Iran  as  the  no- 
bleft  ijland  (for  fo  the  Greeks  and  the  Arabs  would 
have  called  it)  or  at  leaft  as  the  nohltO:  penin/iila  on 
this  habitable  globe ;  and  if  M.  Bail/y  had  fixed  on  it 
as  the  Atlantis  of  Plato,  he  mighty  have  fuppdrted  his 
opinion  with  far  ftronger  arguments  than  any  that  he 
lias  adduced  in  favour  of  New  Zembla.  If  the  account, 
indeed,  ofthpAtlantes  be  not  purely  an  Egyptian^  ot 
an  Utopian^ fsblcy  I  ffiouI3  Be  more  inclined  to  place 
them  in  Iran  than  in  any  region  with  which  I  am  ac* 
quainted. 


ON    THE    PERSIANS.  45 

It  may  feem  ftrange,  that  the  ancient  hiftory  of  fo 
diftingaifhed  an  empire  (liould  be  yet  fo  imperfefVly 
known  ;  but  very  fatisfaftory  reafons  may  be  affigned 
1  for  our  ignorance  of  it:  the  principal  of  them  are 
the  fuperficial  knowledge  of  the  Greeks  and  Jews^ 
and  the  lofs  of  Perj^an  archives^  or  hiflorical  compo- 
fitionsr  "THat  the  Grecmi  writers,  before  Xenophon^ 
hidino  acquaintance  with  Perfia,  and  that  all  their 
accounts  of  it  are  wholly  fabulous,  is  a  paradox  too 
extravagant  to  be  ferioufly  maintained  :  but  their  con- 
nexion with  it  in  war  or  peace  had  indeed  been  ge- 
nerally confined  to  bordering  kingdoms  under  feuda- 
tory princes ;  and  the  firft  Pigry?/?;?  emperor,  whofe 
life  and  character  they  feem  to  have  known  wlrh  tole- 
rable accuracy,  was  the  great  Cyrus^  whom  I  call, 

without  fear  of  contradiction,  CI^(^''^?/^^"  >  ^^^  I  ^^1 
then  only  doubt  that  the  K^ofrau  o^ 
the  Cyrus  of  the  firft  Greek  hiftorian,  and  the  hero 
of  the  oldeft  political  and  moral  romance,  when  I 
doubt  that  Louis  Quatorze  and  Lewis  the  Fourteenth 
were  one  and  the  fame  French  King.  It  is  utterly  inr 
credible  that  two  different  princes  of  Perjia  flhould 
each  have  been  born  in  a  foreign  and  hoftile  territory  ; 
(hould  each  have  been  doomed  to  death  in  his  infancy 
by  his  maternal  grandfather,  in  confequence  of  por- 
tentous dreams,  real  or  invented  ^  (hould  each  have 
been  faved  by  the  remorfe  of  his  deftined  murderer  ; 
and  (hould  each,  after  a  fimilar  education  among 
herdfmen,  as  the  fon  of  a  herdfman,  have  found 
means  to  revifit  his  paternal  kingdom ;  and  having 
delivered  it,  after  a  long  and  triumphant  war,  from  the 
tyrant  who  had  invaded  it,  (hould  have  reftored  it  to 
the  funimit  of  power  and  magnificence  !  Whether  fo 
romantic  a  ftory,  which  is  the  fubjedl  of  an  epic  poem 
as  majeftic  and  entire  as  the  Iliady  be  hiftorically  true, 
we  may  fed  perhaps  an  inclination  to  doubt ;  but  it 
cannot  with  reafon  be  denied,  that  the  outline  of  ?t 
r(l§tdd  tQ  ^  fmgle  hero,  whom  the  jifiatics^  converf* 


1 


i 


/ 


4^^  THE  SIXTH  discourse: 

iog  with  the  father  of  European  hiftory,  defcribed 
according  to  their  popular  traditions  by  his  true  name^ 
which  the  (jrcek  alphabet  could  not  exprefs  :  nor  will 
a  difference  of  names  affcdt  the  queftion,  fince  the 
Greeks  had  little  regard  for  truth,  which  ihty  facrificed 
willingly  to  the  graces  of  their  language,  and  the 
nicety  of  their  ears ;  and,  if  they  could  render  foreiga 
words  melodious,  they  were  never  folicitous  to  make 
ihem  exaft ;  hence  they  probably  formed  Camhyfes^ 
from  Cambakhjhj  or  granting  dejires,  2l  title  rather 
than  a  name ;  and  Xerxes  from  Shiri^i^  a  prince  and 
warrior  in  the  Shahnarnakj  or  from  Shirjhah,  which 
might  alfo  have  been  a  title ;  for  the  Afiatic  princes 
liave  conftantly  affumed  new  titles  or  epithets  at  dif- 
ferent periods  of  their  lives,  or  on  different  occalions  ; 
■  a  cuftom  which  we  have  feen  prevalent  in  our  own 
times  both  in  Iran  and  H'mdujtan^  and  which  has 
been  a  fource  of  great  confufion  even  in  the  fcriptural 
accounts  of  Babylonian  occurrences.  Both  Greekx 
and  Jews  have  in  fa<ft  accommodated  Ferfian  names 
to  their  own  articulation ;  and  both  feem  to  have  dit 
regarded  the  native  literature  of  Iran^  without  which 
they  could  at  moft  attain  but  a  general  and  imperfo^ 
knowledge  of  the  country.  As  to  the  Perjians  them^ 
lelves,  who  were  contemporary  with  the  Jews  and 
Greeks^  they  muft  have  been  acquainted  with  the  hif- 
tory of  their  own  times,  and  with  the  traditional  ac* 
counts  of  paft  ages ;  but  for  a  reafon,  which  will  pre* 
fently  appear,  they  chofe  to  confider  Cayumers  as  the 
founder  of  their  empire ;  and,  in  the  numerous  dif* 
tradlion  which  followed  the  overthrow  of  Dara^ 
efpecially  in  the  great  revolution  on  the  defeat  of 
Yezdegird^  their  civil  hiftories  were  loft,  as  thofe  of 
India  have  unhappily  been,  from  the  folicitude  of 
the  priefts,  the  only,  depoficaries  of  their  learning,  tQ 
preferve  their  books  of  law  and  religion  at  the  expencc 
of  all  others.  Hence  it  has  happened,  that  nothing; 
remains  of  genuine  Perjian  liiftpry  before  the  dynafty 


ON    THE    PERSIANS.  47 

of  Safari^  except  a  few  ruftic  traditions^  and  ^bles^ 
which  fanrilhed  materials  for  the  Shahnamahy  and 
which  are  ftill  fuppofed  to  exift  in  the  Pahlavi  lan- 
guage. All  the  annals  of  the  Pijhdadiy  or  AJyriam 
race,  muft  be  confidered  as  dark  and  fabulous ;  and 
thofe  of  the  Cay  am  family,  or  the  Medes  and  Perfians^ 
as  heroic  and  poetic?^! ;  though  the  lunar  eclipfes, 
faid  to  be  mentioned  by  Ptolerr^\  fix  the  time  rf 
Gujhtafpy  the  prince  by  whom  Zeratujh  was  pro- 
tefted,  of  the  Parthian  kings  defcended  from  Ar-- 
Jhac  or  Arfaces^  we  know  little  more  than  the  names  ; 
But  the  Safanis  had  fo  long  an  intercourfe  with  the 
enjperors  of  Rome  and  Byzantium^  that  the  period 
of  their  dominion  may  be  called  an  hiftorical  age* 
In  attempting  to  afcertain  the  beginning  of  the  AJly^ 
rian  empire,  we  are  deluded,  as  in  a  thoufand  inftanccs, 
by  names  arbitrarily  impofed.  It  had  httn  fettled 
by  chronologers,  that  the  firfl"  monarchy  eftabli(hed 
in  Perfta  was  the  Aj]yrian\  and  Newton^  finding 
fome  of  opinion  that  it  rofe  in  the  firft  century  af- 
ter the  Flood,  but  unable  by  his  own  calculations  to 
extend  it  farther  back  than  feven  hundred  afid  mttety 
years  before  Chrifl,  rejefted  part  of  the  old  fyftem, 
and  adopted  the  reft  of  it ;  concluding,  that  the  Af- 
fyrian  monarchs  began  to  reign  about  two  hundred 
years  after  Solomon^  and  that,  in  all  preceding  ages^ 
the  government  oi  Iran  had  been  divided  into  feveral 
petty  ftates  and  principalities.  Of  this  opinion  I  con- 
fefs  myfelf  to  have  been ;  when,  difregarding  the  wild 
chronology  of  the  Mufelmans  and  Gabrs^  1  had  al- 
lowed the  utmoft  natural  duration  to  the  reigns  of 
eleven  Pijhdadi  kings,  without  being  able  to  add 
ihore  than  a  hundred  years  to  Newton^s  computation. 
Itfeemed  indeed  unaccountably ftrange,  that,  although 
Abraham  had  found  a  regular  monarchy  in  Rgypty 
although  the  kingdom  of  Yernen  had  juft  pretenfions 
tQ  very  high  antiquity  ;  although  the  .Chinefe^in  the 
twelfth  century  before  our  sera,  had  made  approache3 


48  THE  SIXTH  DISCOITRSE: 

at  leaft  to  the  prefcftt  form  of  their  extenfive  domt- 
nion ;  and  although  we  can  hardly  fuppofe  the  firft 
Indian  monarchs  to  have  reigned  lefs  than  three  thou- 
fend  years  ago,  yet  Perfia^  the  moft  delightful,  the 
moft  compaft,  the  moft  defirable  country  of  them 
all,  (hould  have  remained  for  fo  many  ages  unfettled 
and  difunited.  A  fortunate  difcovery,  few  which  I 
was  firft  indebted  to  Mtr  Muhammed  Hufainy  one  of 
the  moft  intelligent  Mufelmans  in  India^  has  at  onice 
diffipated  the  cloud,  and  caft  a  gleam  of  it  on  the 
primeval  hiftory  of  Iran  and  of  the  human  race,  of 
which  I  had  long  defpaired,  and  which  could  hardly 
have  dawned  from  any  other  quarter. 

The  rare  and  interefting  traft  on  twelve^  different 
religionsy  entitled  the  Dahiftinj  and  compofed  by  a 
Mohammedan  traveller,  a  native  of  Cajhmir^  natned 
Mohfany  but  diftinguiOied  by  the  affumed  furname  of 
JR?«/,  oxperijhahky  begins  with  the  wonderfully  curi- 
ous chapter  on  the  religion  of  Hujhan^,  which  was 
long  anterior  to  that  ot  Zeratujki^  but  had  conti- 
nued to  be  fecretly  profeffed  by  many  learned  Per^ 
fians  even  to  the  author's  time ;  and  feveral  of  the 
moft  eminent  of  them,  diffenting  in  many  points 
from  the  Gabrsy  and  perfecuted  by  the  ruling  powers 
pt  their  country,  had  retired  to  India  \  where  they 
compiled  a  number  of  books,  now  extremely  fcarce, 
which  Mohfan  had  perufed,  and  with  the  writers  of 
which,,  or  with  many  of  them,  he  had  contrafted  aa 
intimate  friendftiip.  From  them  he  learned,  that  a 
powerful  monarchy  had  been  eftabliflied  for  ages  in 
Jran  before  the  acceflion  of  Cayumers ;  that  it  was 
called  the  Mahahadian  dynafty,  for  a  rejifon  whic^i 
V^ill  foon  be  mentioned ;  and  that  many  princes,  of 
whom  feven  or  eight  are  only  named  in  the  Dahiftan^ 
^nd  among  them  A/^A/'m/,  at^Maha  Beli^  had  ra.ife(J 
th^ir  empire  to  tb?  ;^enith  pf  l)uman  glory.     If  vfg 


biff    THE    PERSIIANd.  49 

.  •    *     •  • 

!ban  rely  on  this  evidence,  which  to  me  appears  unex- 
ceptidnable,  the  Iranian  monarchy  riiuft  have  been 
the  oldeft  in  the  World  ;  but  it  will  remain  dubious 
to  which  of  the  three  (locks  Hindu,  Af-ahidn^  or  Tar^ 
idr,  the  fif  ft  Kings  of  Iran  belonged  j  or  whether  they 
iprang  from  a  fourth  raCe  diftiruS  from  ariy  of  the 
others  j  add  thefe  are  qugftiohs  which  w^  (hall  be  able^ 
I  imaginef,  to  ahfwef  precifely,  When  w^  have  carefully 
inquired  into  the  language^  arid  tetters^  religion  and 
philofophy,  ind  incidentally  irttd  the  arh  ind/ciences^ 
6f  the  ancii^ht  Perfiani^ 

I.  in  tiie  iiew  aha  important  remarks  which  I  ani 
going  to  offer  on  the  ancient  languages  and  'chard6ieri 
of  Irdn^  I  am  fenfible  that  Jroii  muft  give  me  credit 
for  many  aueftionii  which,  on  this  occalion,  it  is  im- 
poffible  to  prove ;  fdf  I  (hbuid  ill  deferve  ybUr  indul- 
gent attention,  if  I  were  to  abufe  it  by  r^pleating  a 
dry  lift  of  detached  words,  and  j^referiting  jrou  with 
a  vocabulary  inftead  of  a  diflertatiori ;  but,  flnce  \ 
have  no  fytleni  to  mairitaiti,  arid  have  hot  fufFered 
imagiriatidn  to  delude  my  judgmdnt  J  fince  1  have  ha- 
bituated myfelf  to  fdriti  opinions  of  men  and  things 
from  evidence,  which  is  the  only  fcflid  ba(i§  of  civily 
ais  experinieni  is  of  natural  knowledge ;  arid  fince  I 
have  maturely  confidered  the  queftions  which  I  mean 
to  difcufs,  you  will  not,  I  am  perfustded,  fufpedt  my 
teftimony,  or  think  that  I  go  too  far,  when  I  af- 
fUre  you,  thlt  I  will  aflTert  nothing  positively  which 
I  aril  not  able  fatisfdftorily  to  denionftrate.  When 
Muhamhied  was  born,  arid  Anicshif'a'Van^  Whom  he  calls 
the  JiXft  King^  fat  ort  the  throne  of  Perjia^  two  lan- 
;es  appear  to  have  been  generally  prevalent  in  thd 
"empire  of  Iran ;  that  ot  the  Court ^  thence  named 
Deri,  which  Was  only  a  refined  and  elegant  dialeft  of 
mTTarJi,  fo  called  trom  the  province,  of  wTiich  Wi- 
f&z\s  nOw  the  capiral,  and  that  of  the  learned,  in 
whicii  indft  botoks  were  compofed;  and  whiqh  had  the 

Vol,  II.  B 


50  THE  SIXTH  discourse: 

name  of  Pahhvij  either  from  the  heroes  who  {polc(f 
it  in  former  times,  or  from  Pahlu^  a  track  of  land, 
which  included,  we  are  told,  fome  confiderable  cities 
of  Irak.  The  ruder  dialefts  of  both  were,  and,  I  be- 
lieve, ftill  are  fpoken  by  the  ruftics  in  feveral  pro- 
vinces; and  in  many  of  them,  as  Herat y  Zahulj  Sif' 
iariy  and  others,  diftinft  idioms  were  vernacular,  as  it 
happens  in  every  kingdom  of  great  extent.  BeHdes 
the  Parfi  and  Paklavi,  a  very  ancient  and  abftrufe 
tongue  was  known' to  the  priefts  and  philofophers, 
called  the  language  of  the  Zend^  becaulc  a  book  on 
religious  and  moral  duties,  which  they  held  facred, 
and  which  bore  that  name,  had  been  written  in  it; 
while  the  Pazand,  or  comment  on  that  work,  was 
compofed  in  PahJavi^  as  a  more  popular  idioin ;  but 
a  learned  follower  of  Zeratiijht^  nanied  Bahman^  who 
lately  di^d  in  Calcutta^  where  he  had  lived  with  nac 
as  a  Perjian  reader  about  three  years,  affured  me  thaf 
the  letters  of  his  prophet's  book  were  properly  called 
Zend  J  and  the  language  Avejia^  as  the  words  of  the 
Vedus  are  Sanfcrit^  and  the  charaders  Nagdri'y  or  as 
the  old  Sagas  and  poems  of  Iceland  were  expreffed  in 
Runic  letters.  Let  us  however,  in  compliance  with  cuf- 
tom,  give  the  name  of  Zend  to  the  facred  language  of 
Perjia,  until  we  can  find,  as  we  fhall  very  foon,  a  fitter 
appellation  for  it.  The  Zend  and  the  old  Pahlavi  arc 
almofl  extind  in  'Iran ;  for  among  fix  or  feven  thou- 
fand  GabrSy  who  refide  chiefly  at  Yezd^  and  in  6/r- 
manj  there  are  very  few  who  can  read  Pahlavi ;  and 
fcarce  any  who  even  boafl  of  knowing  the  Zend; 
while  the  Par/iy  which  remains  almofl  pure  in  the 
Bhahnamahy  has  now  become  by  the  intermixture  of 
numberlefs  -^r^^/V  words,  and  many  imperceptible 
changes,  a  hew  language  exquifitely  poliflied  by  a  fc- 
ries  of  fine  writers  in  profe  and  verfe,  and  analogous 
to  ?be  different  idioms  gradually  formed  in  Europe^" 
ter  the  I'ubverfion  of  the  Roman  empire :  *but  with 
modern  Peffiun  we  have  no  concern  in  our  prefent  in- 


ON    THE    PERSIANS,  5I 

Ouiry,  which  I  confine  to  the  ages  that  preceded  the 
Mohammedan  coriqueft.  Having  twice  read  the  wofIcb 
of  tirdauji  with  gre.at  attentidn  fince  I  applied  myi 
felf  to  the  ftudy  of  old  Indian  literature,  I  can  affure 
you  with  confidence,  that  hundreds  of  Farfi  nouns 
are  pure  Sanfcrity  with  no  other  change  than  fuchas 
may  be  obferved  in  the  numerous  bhajhas,  or  verna- 
cular dialefts  of  India ;  that  very  many  Persian  im- 
peratives are  the  roots  of  Sanfcrit  verbs ;  and  tha^ 
even  the  moods  and  tenfcs  of  the  Persian  verb  fub- 
ftamive,  which  is  the  mod:?l  of  all  the  reft,  are  dedu- 
cible  from  the  Sanfcrit  by  ari  eafy  and  clear  analogy  « 
we  may  hence  conclude,  that  the  Parji  was  derived, 
like  the  various  Indian  dialedlS,  from  the  language  of 
the  Brahman^  I  and  I  fnuft  add,  that  in  the -pure  Per^ 
Stan  I  find  no  trace  of  any  Arabian  tongne,  except  what 
proceeded  from  the  known  iniercourfe  'between  the 
Perfians  and  Arabs ^  efpedally  in  the  time  of  liakram, 
who  was  educated  in  Arabia,  and  whofe  j^rabic  verfes 
are  ftill  extant,  together  with  his  heroic  line  in  Deri, 
which  many  fuppofe  to  be  the  firft  attempt  at  Persian 
verfification  in  Arabian.mttxt\  but,  without  having  re- 
courfe  to  other  arguments,  ihe  composition  of  words ,  in 
which  the  genius  of  the  Persian  delights,  and  which 
that  df  the  Arabic  abhors,  is  a  decifive  proof  that  the 
Ptff^  fprang  from  an  Indian,  and  not  from  an  Arabian 
ftock.  Confidering  languages  as  mere  inftruments  of 
knowledge,  and  having  ftrong  reafons  to  doubt  the 
evidence  of  genuine  books  in  Zend  or  Pahlavi  (efpe- 
^cially  fince  the  well-infornxed  author  of  the  Dabifian 
affirms  the  work  of  Zeratujht  to  have  been  lofl:,  and 
its  place  fupplied  by  a  recent  compilation)  I  had  no 
I  'inducement,  though  I  had  an  opportunity,  to  learn 
what  reihains  of  thofe  ancient  languages ;  but  I  often 
converfed  on  them  with  my  friend  Bahman  j  and  both, 
of  us  were  convinced  after  full  confideration,  that  the 
Zend  bore  a  ftrong  reiemblance  to  Sanfcrit^  and  the 
Pahlavi  to  Arabic,    He  had  at  my  requeft  tranflated 


%v 


5ft  rnt  SIXTH  discourse! 

into  Pahlavi  jAit  fine  infcription  exhibited  in  tttf 
Gulijhn^  on  the  diadem  of  Cyrus  y  and  I  hadlHe  pa- 
ticnce  to  f ead  the  lift  of  words  from  the  Pazand  in  the 
appendix  to  the  Farhangi  Jehangiri.  T  his  examina* 
tion  gave  me  perfect  conviftion  that  the  Pahlavj 
was  a  dialed^  of  the  Chaldaic ;  and  of  this  cunouslaSt 
J  will  exhibit  a  (hort  proof.  By  tiie  nature  of  the 
Chaldean  tongue,  moft  words  ended  in  the  firft  long 
vowel,  like  Jhemiay  heaven ;  and  that  very  word,  un- 
•altered  in  a  fingle  letter,  we  find  in  the  Pazmdj  toge* 
4her  with  laila^  night;  meydy  water;  mruy  fire; 
vtatray  rain  ;  and  a  multitude  of  others,  all  Arabic  or 
Mehrew^  with  a  Chaldean  Xt\vti\x\'^\\Qw  ;  To  %amaf\^i 
k  beautiful  metaphor,  from  pruning  trees^  means  in 
Hebrew  to  conipofe  verfes^  and  thence,  by  an  eafy 
itranfition  to  sing  them ;  and  in  Pahlavi  we  fee  the 
cverb  zamrwiifen,  toftng^  with  its  forms  zafnrunemiy  1 
.sing^  and  xanirtmid^  \\^  fang ;  the  verbal  terminations 
:X)f  the  Persian^  being  added  tp  the  Chaldaic  root, 
.Now  all  tbofe  words  are  integral  parts  of  the  lan- 
guage, not  adventitious  to  it  like  the  Arabic  nouns 
.  and  verbals  engrafted  on  modern  Per/tan ;  and  this 
diftindion  convinces  me,  that  the  dialeft  of .  the 
Gabrs^  which  they  pretend  to  be  that  of  ZeratufiU 
and  of  which  Bahman  gave  me  a  variety  of  written 
fpecimens,  is  a  late  invention  of  their  priefts,  or  fub- 
fequent  at  leaft  to  the  Mufelfnaninvsdion;  for, 
:  although  it  may  be  poffible  that  a  few  of  their  (acred 
books  were  preferved,  as  he  ufed  to  affert,  in  (heets 
of  lead  or  copper,  at  the  botom  of  wells  near  Yezd^ 
yet,  as  the  conquerors  had  not  only  a  fpiritual,  but  a 
political  intereft  in  perfecuting  a  warlike,  robuft,  and 
indignant  race  of  irreconcileable,  conquered  fubjefts, 
.a  long  time  muft  have  elapfed,  before  the  hidden 
fcriptures  could  have  been  fafely  brought  to  light, 
and  few,  who  could  perfcftly  underftand  theiii, 
muft  then  have  remained;  but,  as  they  continued 
.  to  profefs  among  tbemlelves  the  religion  of  their 
forefathers^  it  then  becaiQe  expedient  for  the  Mubeds 


ON    THE    PERSIANS.  53 

to  fupply  the  loft  or  mutilated  works  of  their  legif* 
lator  by  new  compofitions,  partly  from  their  imper- 
fed  recolleAion,  and  partly  from  fuch  moral  and  re- 
ligious knowledge  as  they  gleaned,  moft  probably, 
among  the  Chriftlans^  with  whom  they  had  an  inter- 
courfe*  One  rule  we  may  fairly  eftablifti  in  deciding 
the  qiieftion.  Whether  the  books  of  the  modern  Gabrs 
were  anterior  to  the  invafion  of  the  Arabs  ?  Whei^ 
an  At  able  noun  occurs  in  them,  changed  only  by  the 
fpirit  of  the  Chaldean  idiom ;  as  werta  for  werd^  a 
rofe ;  daba  for  dhahab,  gold ;  or  deman  for  zetnan^ 
time,  we  may  allow  it  to  have  been  ancient  PahJavi  j 
but  when  we  meet  with  verbal  nouns  or  infinitives, 
evidently  formed  by  the  rules  of  Arabian  grammar, 
we  may  be  fure  that  the  phrafes  in  which  they  occar 
are  comparatively  modern^  and  not  a  fingle  paflage 
which  Bahman  produced  from  the  books  of  his  reli* 
gion  would  abide  this  tefL 

We  come  now  to  the  language  of  the  Zend ;  and 
here  I  muft  impart  a  difcovery  which  I  lately  made, 
and  from  which  we  may  draw*  the  moft  interefting 
confequences.  M.  Anquetil^  who  had  the  merit  of 
undertaking  a  voya!ge  to  India^  in  his  earlieft  youth, 
with  no  other  view  than  to  recover  writings  of  Zera^ 
tujhtj  and  who  would  have  acquired  a  brilliant  repu- 
tation in  France,  if  he  had  not  luUied  it  by  his  immo* 
derate  vanity  and  virulence  of  temper,  which  alienated 
the  good  will  even  of  his  own  countrymen,  has  ex- 
hibitcd  in  his  work,  entitled  Zetidavefta^  two  vocabu- 
lar^ies  in  Zend  and  Pahhvi,  which  he  had  found  in 
ah  approved  colleftion  of  Rawayat,  or  Traditional 
Pieces^  in  modern  Perjian.  Of  his  Pahlai>i  no  more 
need  to  be  faid  than  that  it  ftrongly  confirms  my  opi- 
nion concerning  the  Chaldaic  origin  of  that  language  | 
but,  when  I  perufed  the  Zend  glouary,  I  was  inexpref- 
fibly  (lirprized  to  find  that  fix  or  feven  words  in  ten 
fff rQ  pure  S^nfcrit^  and  even  fome  of  their  inflexioiui 


i 


54        •         THE  SIXTH  discourse: 

formed  by  the  rules  of  the  Vyacaran ;  z.%  yujhmacami 
the  genitive  plural  oi  yujhmad.  Now  M.  jinquetil 
mod  certainly,  and  the  Persian  compiler  moft  proba- 
bly, had  no  knowledge  of  Sanfcrit  \  and  could  not, 
therefore,  have  invented  a  lift  of  Sanfcrit  words :  it 
is,  therefore,  an  authentic  lift  of  Zend  words  which 
had  been  prefervcd  in  books,  or  by  tradition :  and  it 
follows,  that  the  language  of  the  Zend  was  at  leaft  a 
diale<ft  of  the  Sanfcrit^  approaching  perhaps  as  nearly 
to  it  as  the  Pracrit,  or  other  popular  idioms,  which  we 
know  to  have  been  fpoken  in  India  two  thoufand 
years  ago.  From  all  tbefe  fafts  it  is  a  neceflary  con- 
fequence,  that  the  oldeft  difcoverable  languagesjof 
Persia  were  ChaJdaic  and  Sanfcrit ;  and  that,  when 
they  had  ceafed  to  be  vernacular,  the  Pahlavi  and 
Zend  were  deduced  from  them  refpeftively,  and  the 
Parsi  either  from  the  Zendy  or  immediately  from  the 
dialed  of  the  Brahmans ;  but  all  had  perhaps  a  mix- 
ture of  Tartariafi  -,  tor  the  beft  lexicographers  aflert, 
that  numberlels  words  in  ancient  Persian  are  taken 
from*  the  language  of  the  Cimmeria^ts^  or  the  Tartars 
of  Kipcha'k;  fo  that  the  three  families,  whofe  line^e 
we  have  examined  in  former  difcourfes,  had  left  vifible 
traces  of  themfelves  in  Iran  long  before  the  Tartars 
^nd  j^rahs  had  ruftied  from  their  deferts,  and  re- 
turned from  that  very  country  from  which,  in  all  pro- 
bability, they  originally  proceeded,  and  which  the 
Hindm  had  abandoned  in  an  earlier  age,  with  pofi- 
tive  commands  from  their  legiflators  to  revifit  it  no 
more.  I  clofethis  head  with  obferving,  that  no  fup- 
pofition  of  a  mere  political  or  commercial  inter- 
courie  between  the  different  nations,  will  account  for 
the  Sanfcrit  and  ChaJdaic  words,  which  we  find  in  the 
old  Persian  tongues;  becaufe  they  are,  in  the  firft 
place,  too  numerous  to  have  been  introduced  by 
fuch  means;  and  fecondly,  are  not  thje.  names  of 
exotic  animals,  commodities,  or  arts,  but  thpfe  of 
material  eleracnts,  pa^tsof  the  body,  na,tvic^Lobjeds 


ON    THE    PERSIANS.  ^^ 

and  relations,  affeftions  of  the  mind,  and  other  ideas 
common  to  the  whole  race  of  man. 

If  a  nation  of  Hindus,  it  may  be  urged,  ever  pof- 
feffed  and  governed  the  country  of  Iran^  we  Qiould 
find  on  the  very  ancient  ruins  ot  the  temple  or  pa- 
lace, now  called  the  Throne  of  Jernjhid^  fome  m- 
fcriptions  in  Devanagariy  or  at  lead  in  the  characters 
on  the  ftones  at  Elephanta,  where  the  fculptnre  is 
unqueftionably  Indian^  or  in  thofe  on  the  Jiaff  of 
Firuz  Shah,  which  exift  in  the  heart  of  India  j  and 
fuch  infcriptions  we  probably  (hould  have  found,  if 
that  edifice  had  not  been  erefted  after  the  migra- 
tion of  the  Brahmans  from  Iran,  and  the  violent  fchifm 
in  the  Perjian  religion,  of  which  we  (hall  prefently 
fpeak^  for,  although  the  popular  name  of  the  build- 
ing at  Istakar,  or  Perfepolis,  be  no  certain  proof  that  it 
was  raifed  in  the  time  of  Jemjhid,  yet  fuch  a  faft 
might  eafily  have  been  preferved  by  tradition  ;  and 
we  Ihall  foon  have  abundant  evidence  that  the  tem- 
ple was  poller ior  to  the  reign  of  the  Hindu  mo- 
narchs.  Tht  cyprejfes  indeed,  which  are  reprefented 
with  the  figures  in  proceffion,  might  induce  a  rea- 
der of  the  Shahnamah  to  believe,  that  the  fculptures 
related  to  the  new  faith  introduced  by  Zeratujht\  but 
as  a  cyprefs  is  a  beautiful  ornament,  and  as  many  of 
the  figures  -  appear  inconfiftent  with  the  reformed 
adoration  of  fire,  we  muft  have  recourfe  to  ftronger 
proofs,  that  the  Takhti  JemJIiid  was  urefted  after 
Cayumers.  The  building  has  lately  been  vifited, 
and  the  charafters  on  it  examined,  by  Mr.  Franck- 
lin;  from  whom  we  learn,  that  ISiebuhr  has  delineated 
them'  with  great  accuracy ;  but  without  fuch  tefti- 
mony  I  (hould  have  lufpefted  the  corred:nefs  of 
the  delineation,  becaufe  the  Danijh  traveller  has  ex- 
hibited two  infcriptions  in  modern  Persian,  and  ore 
of  them  from  the  fame  place,   which  canno;  hiive^ 

E4 


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II 


56  THE    SIXTH    discourse: 

been  exaftly  tranfcribed :  they  are  very 
verfes  of  JNizami  and  Sadi,  on  the  inftaVtlity  c 
greatnejsy  but  fo  ill  engraved  or  fo  ill  copied 
I  had  not  had  them  nearly  by  heart,  I  (h< 
have  been  able  to  read  them;  and  M.  /2p: 
Isfdhqrij  who  tranllated  them  with  fhamel 
i;  Jl  curacy,  niufl  have  been  deceived  by  the  bi 

TJ  if  the  copy,  or  he  never  would  have  created  a  i 

Waham^  by  forming  one  word  of  Jem  and 
tide  prefix:ed  to  it.     Afluming,  however, 
may  reafon  as  conclufively  on  the  cbarad 
lilhed  by  Niehuhr  as  we  might  on  the  mc 
thenifelves,  were  they  now  before  us,  we  ir 
with  obferving,  as  Chardin  bad  obferved  on 
fpot,  that  they  bear  no  refemblance  whatev 
letters  ufed  by  the   Gabrs    in  their    copies 
Vendtdad.     This  I  once  urged,  in  an  amicat 
with  Bahman^  as  a  proof  that  the  Zend  let 
a  modern  invention ;    but    he   feemed  *to 
without   furprize,    and  infifted    that    the    \ 
which  I  alluded,  and  which  he  had  often  fi 
Iff i  monumental    characters    never  ufed  in  bo 

intended  either  to  Conceal  feme  religious 

from  the  vulgar,  or  to  difplay  the  art  of  the 

like  the  embellilhed  Cufick  and  Nag^ri  c 

Arabian  and  Indian  monuments.     He  won< 

'I' I  any  man  could  ferioufly  doubt  the  antiqu' 

Y^\  Pahlavi  letters ;  and  in  truth  the  infcripti< 

IjHill  the  horfe  of  Rujiam^  which  Niehuhr  has  ; 

US,  is  apparently  Pahlavi^  and  plight  with  f 
,     „  be  decyphered ;  that  character  was  extrer 

Ifrjl  and  feems  to  have  been  written,  like  the  i 

the  Arabic^  in  a  variety  of  hands ;  for  I 
to  have  examined  a  rare  colleftion  of  o 
coins  in  the  mufupm  of  the  great  Anatc 
Ham  Hunter-^  and,  though  I  believed  thp  . 
be  Pahlavi^  and  had  no  doubt  that  they 
of  Parthian  kings,  yet  I  could  not  read  tl 


! 


slt^ 


f  ■■ 


I 


■  '  !  ■  !i 


ft: 


». 


ON    THE    PERSIANS*  l^J 

tioqs  without  wafting  more  time  than  I  had  then  at 
command,  in  comparing  the  letters  and  afcert^ining 
the  proportipns  in    which   they  fevcrally  occurred. 
The  grofs   Pahlavi  was  improved  by  Zeratujht  or  his 
difciples  into  an  elegant  and  perfpicuous  character,  in 
which  the  Zendavefta  was  copied ;    and  both  were 
written  from  the  risht  hand  to  the  left,  like  other 
^Chaldaic  alphabets,  for  they  are  manifeftly  both  of 
Chaldean  origin ;  but  the  Zend  has  the  Angular  ad- 
vantage of  expreffing  all  the  long  and  (hort  vowels  by 
diftindt  marks  in  the  body  of  each  word,  and  all  the 
words  are  diftinguiftied  by  full  points  between  them  j 
fo  that  if  modern  Persian  were  unmixed  with  j^tahic^ 
it  might  be  written  in  Zend  with  the  greateft  conveni- 
ence, as  any  one  may  perceive,  by  copying  in  that 
charafter  a  few  pages  of  the  Shahnamah.     As  to  the 
unknown  infcriptions  in  the  palace  oi  Jemjhidj  it  may 
reafonably  be  doubted  whether  they  contain  a  fyftem 
pf  letters  which  any  nation  ever  adopted:  mjiveoi 
them  the  letters,  which  are  feparated  by  points,  may 
be  reduced  to  forty,  at  leaft  I  can  diftinguifli  no 
more  eflentially  different;  and  they  all  feerh  to  be 
regular  variations  and  compofitions  of  a  ftraight  line 
and  an  angular  figure  like  the  head  of  a  javelin,  or  a 
leaf  (to  ufe  the  language  of  botanifts)  hearted  and 
lanced.     Many  of  the  Runic  letters  appear  to  have 
been  formed  of  fitnilar  elements ;  and  it  has  been  ob- 
ferved,  that  the  writing  at  PerfepoHs  bears  a  ftrong 
^refemblance  to  that  which  the  Irijh  call  Ogham.    The 
^oxdi  jj^am  in  Sanfcrit  means  myjterious  knowledge  ; 
but  r^dare'not  affirm  that  the  two  words  had  a  com- 
mon origin ;  and  only  mean  to  fuggeft  that,  if  the 
characfters  in  queftion  be  really  alphabetical,  they  were 
probably  fecret  and  facerdotal,  or  a  mere  cypher  per- 
haps, of  which  the  priefts  only  had  the  key.     They 
might,  I  imagine,  be  decyphered  if  the  language  were 
f mainly  known s  but  in  all  other  infcriptions  of  thp 


ll 


i 


58  THE    SIXTH    DISCOL\RSE  : 

lame  fort,  the  charaders  are  too  complex,  and 
nations  of  them  too  numerous,  to  admit  an  • 
that  they  could  be  fymbols  of  articulate  foun 
even  the  Nagari  fyftem,  which  has  more  difti 
ters  than  any  known  alphabet,  confifts  only  o: 
nine  fimple  charafters,  two  of  which  are  mere 
tutions,  and  four  of  little  ufe  in  Sanfcrit^  or 
other  language ;  while  the  more  complicated 
I  ij  exhibited  by  Niebuhr^  muft  be  as  numerous 

as  the  Chinefe  keys,  which  are  the  figns  of  idee 
and  fome  of  which  refemble  the  old  Perfiai 
at  Istakhr.  The  Danijh  traveller  was  convince 
his  own  obfervation  that  they  were  written  fi 
left  hand,  like  all  the  charaders  ufed  by  /£; 
tions ;  but  I  muft  leave  this  dark  fubjedt,  \ 
cannot  illuminate,  with  a  remark  formerly  n: 
inyfelf,tliat  the  fquare  Cialciaic  letters j  a  few  o 
are  found  on  the  Perjtan  ruins,  appear  to  ha 
originally  the  fame  with  the  Devanagarii  bef 
latter  were  enclofed,  as  we  now  fee  them,  in 
frames. 


J 

'lii 
I 


(   \ 


I 


IL  The  primeval  religion  of  Iran^  if  we  rel' 
authorities  adduced  hyMohJam  Family  was  tha 
•   Newton,  calls  the  oldeft  (and  icmay  be  juftl 
A  .the  nobleft)  of  all  religions :  ''  A  firm  'belief  tl 
/ "  *'  Supreme  God  made  the  world  by  his  pow 
•^  continually  governed  it  by  his  providence; 
i      **  fear,  love,  and  adoration  of  him  ;  a  due  re 
[      <*  for  parents  and  aged  perfons  ;  a  fraternal  < 
*'  for  the  whole  human  fpecies,  and  a  comp; 
{       *^  tendernefs  even  for  the  brute  creation*'*     1 
ji!  i       of  devotion  fo  pure  and  fublime  could  hardly. 

il;  mortals,  be  of  long  duration;  and  we  learn  f 

'j  l)abijian^  that  the  popular  worlhip  of    the. 

unvier  Hnjhang^  was  purely  Siihian ;  a  word  o 
1  cannot  offer  any  certain  etymology,  but  w 
been  deduced  by  grammarians  from  Saba^ 

N 

i 


r 


ON    THE    PERSIANS.  59 

and  particularly  the  hojl  oj  heaven^  or  the  celeftial    \l  : 
'iodieJ^~^m~l^t  adoratrdn^r  wHTch  the  Sabian  ritiial   / 
is  telieved  to  have  confifted.     There  is  a  defcription  ' 
lir  the  learned  work  juft  mentioned,  of  the  feveral 
Perjian  teniples  dedicated  to  the  Sun  and  Planets, 
of  the  iniages  adored  in  them,  and  of  the  magnificent 
proceflions  to  them  on  prefcribed  feftivals;    one  of 
which   is    probably  reprefented  by  fculpture  in  the 
ruined  city  of  Jemjhid.     But  the  planetary  worfliip  in 
Perfia  feems  only  a  part  of  a  far  more  complicated 
religion,  which  we  now  find  in  thefe  Indian  provinces; 
for  Mob/an  aflures  us  that,  in  the  opinion  of  the  beft- 
informed  Per/ianSp.^Vfho  profeffed   the  faith  of  Hu'    . 
Jhang^  diflinguiftied  from  that  of  Zeratujht^  the  firft 
monarch  of  Iran,  and  of  the  whole  earth,  was  MaHia^ 
^3^^  word  apparently  Sanfcrit)  who  divided  the 
people  into  four  orders,  the  religious,  the  military y  the 
commercial^    2Lnd  the  fervile,    to   which   he   affigned 
names  linqueftionably  the  fame  in  their  origin  vyith 
thofe  now  applied  to  the  four  primary  claffes  of  the 
Hindus,      They  added,  that  he  received   from  the 
Creator,  and  promulgated  among  men,  a  facred  hook 
in  a  heavenly  language ^  to  which  the  Mufelman  author 
"gives  the  Arabic  title  of  Defatiry  or  Regulations,  but 
the  Original  name  of  which  he  has  not  mentioned ; 
and  xhdX  fourteen  Mahabads  had  appeared  or  would 
appear  in  human  ftiapes   for  the  government  of  this 
world.     Now  when  we  know  that  the  Hindus  believe 
in  fourteen  Menus,  or  celeftial  perfonages  with  fimilar 
fundtions,  iht  frft  of  whom  left  a  book  oi  regulations  ^ 
or  divine  ordinances^  which  they  hold  equal  to  the 
Veddy  and  the  language  of  which  they  believe  to  be 
that  of  the  'gods,  we  can  hardly  doubt  that  the  firft 
corruption  of  the  pureft  and  oldeft  religion  was  the  fyf- 
tem  of  Indian  theology  invented  by   the  Brahmans^ 
and  prevalent  in  thele  territories,  where  the  book  of 
Majiabady  or  Menu,  is  at  this  moment  the  ftandard  ojE 
^tTTeliglbus  and  moral  duties.   The  acceffion  of  Gi>'^? 


6o  THE  SIXTH  Discourse: 

mers  to  the  throne  of  Persia^  in  the  eighth  or  ninth 
century  before  Chrijlj  feems  to  have  been  accompi- 
nied  by  a  confiderable  revolution  both  in  governtlicnt 
and  religion :  he  was  moft  probably  of  a  different 
lace  from  the  Mahabadians  who  preceded  him,  and 
began  perhaps  the  new  fyflem  of  national  faith 
which  Hujhangy  whole  name  it  bears,  completed; 
but  the  reformation  was  partial ;  for,  while  they  rejcA- 
cd  the  complex  polytheifm  of  their  predeceflbrs,  they 
retained  the  laws  of  Mahabad^  with  a  fuperflitioirs  ve. 
Deration  for  the  fun,  the  planets,  and  fire ;  thus  re^ 
fembling  the  Hindu  feds,  called  Sauras  and  Sagmcas^ 
the  fecond  of  which  is  very  numerous  at  Banares^ 
where  many  agnihotras  are  continually  blazing,  and 
where  the  Sagnicus^  when  they  enter  on  their  facerdo« 
fal  office,  kindle,  with  two  pieces  of  the  hard  wood 
Semi^  a  fire  which  they  keep  lighted  through  their 
live^  for  their  nuptial  ceremony,  the  performance  of 
fblemn  facrifices,  the  obfequiesof  departed  anceftors,' 
and  their  own  funeral  pile.  This  remarkable  rite 
was  continued  by  Zeratujht^  who  reformed  the  old  re- 
ligion by  the  addition  of  genii,  or  angels,  prefiding 
over  months  and  days,  of  new  ceremonies  in  the  ve- 
neration (hown  to  fire,  of  a  new  work  which  he  pre- 
tended to  have  received  from  Heaven,  and,  above  all, 
by  eftabliQiing  the  adtual  adoration  of  one  Supreme 
Being.  He  was  born,  according  to  Mohfan,  in  the 
diftrift  of  Rat ;  and  it  was  he  (not,  as  jimmianus  af- 
ferts,  his  protedor  Gujhtajb)  who  travelled  into  India^ 
that  he  might  receive  information  from  the  Brahmans 
in  theology  and  ethics.  It  is  barely  poffible  that  Py^ 
ihagoras  knew  him  in  the  capital  of  Irak ;  but  the 
Grecian  fage  muft  then  have  been  far  advanced  in 
years ;  and  we  have  no  certain  evidence  of  an  inter- 
courfe  between  the  two  philofophers*  The  reformed 
religion  of  Persia  continued  in  force  till  that  coumi^ 
was  fubdued  by  the  Miifehians\  and,  without  ftuidy^ 
iDg  the  "Lendy  we  have  ampl^  information  con^er^ing 


ON    THR    P^RSIAKSi    '  6t 

it  in  the  modern  Persian  writings  of  fcveral  who  pro- 
fefled  it.  Bahman  always  named  Zeratti/ht  y/\th  rC" 
vcrence ;  but  lie  was  in  truth  a  pure  Theift,  and 
ftron^y  <f3claimed'any  adoration  of  ihtjire  or  other 
elements :  he  denied  that  the  doArine  of  two  coeval 
principles^  fupremely  good  and  fupremely  bad,  form-" 
ed  any  part  of  his  faith ;  and  he  often  repeated  with 
emphails  the  ve?fes^of  FirdqusJ  on  tht Jfrojlration  oi 
Cyrus  andjiis  paternal  grandfather  before  the  blazing 


iitar:  •*  Think  not  that  they  were  adorers  of  fire ; 
**Ior  that  element  was  only  an  exalted  objedt,  on  the 
**  luflre  of  which  they  fixed  their  eyes ;  they  humbled 
**  themfelves  a  while  week  before  God\  and,  if  thy 
**  undcrftanding  be  ever  fo  litde  exerted,  thou  muft 
**  acknowledge  thy  dependence  on  the  Being  fupreme- 
**  ly  pure."  In  a  ftory  of  Sadiy  near  the  clofe  of  his 
beautifiil  Buftariy  concerning  the  idol  of  Somanathj  or 
Mahadevdy  he  confounds  the  religion  of  the  Hindus 
with  that  of  the  Gabrs^  calling  the  Brahmans  not  only 
Moghs  (which  might  be  juftified  by  a  paiTage  in  the 
Mejfuyvi)  but  even  readers  of  the  Zend  and  Pazend* 
Now,  whether  this  confufion  proceeded  from  real  or 
pretended  ignorance  I  cannot  decide,  but  am  as 
firmly  convinced  that  the  doftrines  of  the  Zend  were 
diftinft  from  thofe  of  the  Feduj  as  1  am  that  the  reli- 
gion of  the  Brahmans^  with  whom  we  converfe  every 
day,  prevailed  in  Persia  before  the  acceffion  of  Cayu^ 
mersj  whom  the  Parsisy  from  refpeft  to  his  memory, 
.confider  as  the  firft  of  men,  although  they  believe  in 
an  univeffal  deluge  before  his  reign. 

With  the  religion  of  the  old  Persians,  their  ^A;-. 
lofophy  (or  as  much  as  we  know  of  it)  was  inti- 
mately conneded ;  for  they  were  affiduous  obferv- 
ers  of  the  luminaries,  which  they  adored  and  efta- 
bliflied,  according  to  Mohfan^ /who  confirms  in  fomc 
dfigree  the  fragments  of  Berofus^  a  number  of  arti- 


62  TH£  SIXTH  DISCOURSE  : 

ficial  cycles  with  diftind  names,  which  feem  to  indi- 
cate a  knowledge  of  the  period  in  which  the  equinoxes 
appear  to  revolve.  They  are  faid  alfo  to  have  known 
the  moft  wonderful  powers  of  nature,  and  thence  to 
have  acquired  the  fame  of  magicians  and  enchanters: 
but  I  will  only  detain  you  with  a  few  remarks  on  that 
metaphyfical  theology  which  has  been  profefled  im- 
memorially  by  a  numerous  feft  of  Perfians  and  Hin^ 
dtiSy  was  carried  in  part  into  Greece^  and  prevails  even 
now  among  the  learned  MufehnanSj  who  fometimes 
avow  it  without  referve.  The  modern  philofophers 
of  this  perfuafion  are  called  Sufis ^  either  from  the 
Greek  word  for  a  /age,  or  from  the  woollen  mantlt 
which  they  ufed  to  wear  in  fome  provinces  of  Persia  ? 
their  fundamental  tenets  are,  that  nothing  exifts  abfo- 
lutcly  but  God'y  that  the  human  foul  is  an  emanation 
from  his  eflence,  axid  though  divided  for  a  time 
from  its  heavenly  fource,  will  be  finally  reunited  "with 
it ;  that  the  higheft  poffible  happinefs  will  arife  froril 
its  reunion  ;  and  that  the  chief  good  of  mankind  in 
this  tranfitory  world,  confifts  in  as  perfect  an  union 
with  the  Eternal  Spirit  as  the  incumbrances  of  a 
monal  frame  will  allow ;  that  for  this  purpofe  they 
fliould  break  all  connexion  (or  taalluk^  as  they  call  it) 
with  extrinfic  objedts,  and  pafs  throueh  life  withoi^ 
attachments,  as  a  fwimmer  m  the  ocean  ftrikes  fireely 
without  the  impediment  of  clothes ;  that  they  fhould 
be  ftraight  and  free  as  the  cyprefs,  whofe  fruit  is  hardly 
perceptible,  and  not  fink  under  a  load,  like  fruit-trees 
attached  to  a  trellis ;  that,  if  mere  earthly  charms 
have  power  to  influence  the  foul,  the  idea  of  celeftial 
beauty  muft  overwhelm  it  in  extatic  delight;  that 
for  want  of  apt  words  to  exprefs  the  div'me  perfec- 
tions and  the  ardour  of  devotion,  we  muft  borrow 
fuch  cxpreflions  as  approach  the  neareft  to  our  ideas, 
and  fpeak  of  Beauty  and  Love  in  a  tranfcendent  and 
myftical  fenfe  i  that,  like  a.  reed  torn  from  its  native 


/ 


*'**■ 

r 


ON  THE  PERSIANS.  ^% 

bank,  Tike  wax  feparated  from  its  delicious  honey,  the 
fon  of  man  bewails  its  difunion  with  melancholy  rnufic^ 
and  flieds  burning  tears,  like  the  lighted  taper  wait- 
ing  paffiopately  for  the  moment  of  its  extinftion,  as  a 
difengagement  from  earthly  trammels,  and  the  means 
of  returning  to  its  Only  Beloved.  Such  in  part  (for 
1  omit  the  minuter  and  more  fubtil  metaphyfics  of 
the  Sufis^  which  are  mentioned  in  the  DaViJlayi)  is 
the  wild  and  cnthufiaftic  religion  of  the  modern  Per^ 
Jian  poets,  efpecially  of  the  fweet  Hafiz  and  the  great 
Maula'vi :  ,(jLich  is  the  fyftem  of  the  Vedunti  philo- 
fophers'and  beft  lyric  poets  of  huliwy  and,  as  it  was  ^- ' 
a  Tyftern  of  the  higjten:  antiquity  in  both  nations,  it 
may  be  added  to  the  many  other  proofs  of  an  imme- 
morial affinity  between  them. 

Ill;  On  the  ancient  monument:  of  Perjian  fculpture 
and  architefture,  Wc  halve  already  made  fuch  obfer- 
vations  as  were  fufficient  for  our  purpofe ;  nor  will 
you  be  furprized  at  the  diverfity  between  the  figures 
at  Elep'ha7itaj^\\\c\\  aire  manifeftly  Hhidu^  and  thofe  at 
Perfe^lisj  which  are  ttterely  Sabian^  if  you  concur 
with  me  in  believing  that  the  Takhti  Jemjhid  was 
ereAed  after  the  time  of  CayumerSy  (vhen  the  Brahmans 
had  migrated  from  Iran^  and  when  their  intricate  my- 
thology had  been  fuperfeded  by  the  fimplcr  adoration 
of  the  planets  and  of  fire. 

IV.  As  to  xhtfciences  or  arts  of  the  old  Perfians^  I 
have  little  to  fay  ^  and  no  complete  evidence  of  them 
feems  to  exift.  *  Mohfan  fpcaks  more  than  once  of  an. 
cicnt  verfes  in  the  Pahlavl  language;  and  Bahman 
aflured  me,  that  fonie  fcanty  remains  of  them  had  been 
preferved  :  their  mufic  and  painting,  which  Nizami 
celebrated,  have  irrecoverably  perifhed;  and  in  regard 
to  Man'h  the  painter  and  impoftor,  whofe  book  of 
drawings,  called  Artang,  which  he  pretended  to  be 


^4  '^HX    SIXTH    DISCOURSE  : 

divine,  is  fuppofed  to  have  been  deftroyed  by  the  C 
nefe^  in  whofe  dominions  he  had  fought  refuge, — i 
whole  tale  is  too  modern  to  throw  any  light  on  i 
queftions  before  us  concerning  the  origin  of  nations  a 
the  inhabitants  of  the  primitive  world. 

Thus  has  It  been  proved  by  clear  evidericc  and  pi 
reafoning,   that  a  powerful  monarchy  was  eftablifl: 
in  Iran  long,  before  the  AJjyrian^  or  P'ljhdadi^  govci 
ment :  jliat  it  was  in  truth  a  jH/Ww  monarchy,  thou 
if  any  chufe  to  call  it  Cuftah^  Cafdean^  or  Scythian^ 
(hali  not  enter  into  a  debate  on  mere  names ;  that 
Tubfifled  many  centuries,  and  that  its  hidory  has  be 
engrafted  on  that  of  the  Hindus^  who  founded  t 
monarchies  o^Ayodhyd  and  Indraprefiha ;  that  the  li 
guage  of  the  firft  Perfian  empire  was  the  mother 
the  Sanfcrit^  and  confequently  of  the  Zend  and  Pi 
as   well  as  of  Greeks   Latin^  and   Gothic  i    that 
language  of  the  Affyrians  was  the  parent  of  Chal 
and  Pahlaviy  and  that  the  primary   Tartarian 
guage  alfo  had  been  current  in  the  fame  emp 
although,  as  the  Tartars  had  no  books  or  even 
ters,  we  cannot  with  certainty  trace  their  unpol' 
and  variable  idioms.     We  difcover,  therefore  i 
Jia^  at  the  earlieft  dawn  of  hiftory,  the  three  ( 
races  of  men,  whom  we  defcribed  on  formei 
7ions7  as  pofleflbrs  of  India y  Arabia^  Tartar 
whether  they   were  colleftcd   in  Iran  from 
regions,    or  diverged   from  it  as  from  a  cc 
centre^    we    {hall   eafily  detertnine   by  the 
ing  confiderations.       Let    us  obferv/?,    in   t 
place,     the    central    pofition     of     Iran^     w 
bounded  by  Arabld,    by  Tariary,    and    b* 
whilft   Arabia    lies    contiguous  to   Iran  0 
is   remote   from  Tartary^    and   divided   e 
the    Ikirts    of  India  by    a    eonfiderable  g 
country,  thefefote,  but  Perfia  feems  likel; 


ON   THE   PERSIANS.  6^ 

lent  forth  its  colonies  to  all  the  kingdbms  of  ^Jta. 
The  Brahmans  could  never  have  migrated  from  India 
to  Iran^  becaufe  they  are  exprefsly  forbidden  by  their 
oldeft  cxifting  laws  to  leave  the  region  which  they  in- 
habit at  this  day  j  the  Arabs  have  not  even  a  tradition 
of  an  emigration  into  Perjia  before  Mohammed^  nor 
had  they  indeed  Ifciy  inducement  to  quit  their  beauti- 
ful and  extenfive  domains ;  and  as  to  the  Tartars ^  we 
have  ne  trace  in  hiftory  of  their  departure  from  their 
plains  and  forefts  till  the  invaiion  of  the  Medes^  who, 
according  to  etymologifts,  were  the  fons  of  Madai ; 
and  even  they  were  condufted  by  princes  of  an  AJly^ 
fian  family.  The  three  races,  therefore,  whom  we 
have  alresidy  mentioned  (and  more  than  three  we 
have  not  yet  found)  migrated  from  Iran  as  from  their 
common  country ;  and  thus  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  I 
prefume  frotn  good  authority,  brings  the  firft  inhabit- 
ants  of  Britain  {TqiQ^^Arme7itai  while  a  late  very 
leameT wTrTtcr  concludes,  after  all  his  laborious  re- 
fearches,  that  the  Goths  or  Scythians  came  from  Per^^ 
Jia  ;  and  another  contends  with  great  force,  that  both 
the  Irijh  and  old  Britons  proceeded  feverally  from  the 
borders  of  the  Cafpian ;  a  coincidence  of  conclufions 
from  different  media  by  perfons  wholly  unconneded, 
ivhich  could  fcacce  have  happened  if  they  were  not. 

f rounded  on  folid  principles.  We  may  therefore 
old  this  propofition  firmly  eftablilhed,  that  Iran^  or 
Perjia  in  its  largeft  fenfe,  was  the  true  centre  of  popu- 
lation, of  knowledge,  of  languages,  and  of  arts;  which, 
inftead  of  travelling  weft  ward  only,  as  it  has  been  fan- 
cifully fuppofed,  or  eaftward,  as  might  with  equal 
reaion  have  been  afferted,  were  expanded  in  all  di- 
redions  to  all  the  regions  of  the  world  in  which  the 
Hindu  race  had  fettled  under  various  denominations : 
but  whether  jisia  has  not  produced  other  races  of 
men,  diftindt  from  the  Hindus^  the  Arabsy  or  the 
Tartars ;  or  whether  any  apparent  diveriity  may  not 
have  fprung  from  an  intermixture  of  thgfe  three 
N9ulh  F 


($6     THE  SIXTU  discourse:   on  the  PERSXANSf 

in  different. proportions,  muft  be  tlic  lubjeft  of  a  fii-^ 
ture  inquiry.     There  is  another  queftion  of  more  im- 
mediate importance,  which  you,  gentlemen,  only  can 
decide  j  namely,  "  By  what  means  we  can  prefer vc 
*'  our  Society  from  dyinggradually  away  ?  as  it  has  ad- 
*«  vanced  gradually  to  its  prefent  (fhall  I  fay  flourifli- 
^*  ing'or  knguifliing?)  ftate/'     It  has  fubfifted  five 
years  without  any  expence  to  the  members  of  it,  until 
the  firft  volume  of  our  Tranfadions  was  pubUfhed ; 
and  the  price  of  that  large  volume,  if  we  compare  the . 
different  values  of  money  in  Bengal  and  in  England^ 
is  not  more  than  equal  to  the  annual  contribution  to- 
>■  wards  the  charges  of  the  Royal  Society  by  each  of  its 
fellows,  \llrho  may  not  have  chofen  to  compound  for  it 
on  his  admiflion.     Thi^  I  mention  not  from  an  ide 
that  any  of  us  could  objeA  to  the  purchafe  of  on 
copy  at  leaft,  but  from  a  wifti  to  inculcate  the  nece' 
fity  of  our  cqmmon  exertions  in  promoting  the  '' 
of  the  work,  both  here  and  in  London^     In-  vain 
we  meet  as  a  literary  body,  if  our  meetings  (hall  < 
to  be  fupplied  with  original  difTertations  and  m( 
rials ;  and  in  vain  (hall  we  coUedl  the  moft  intere 
papers,  if  we  cannot  publilh  them  occafionally 
out  expoling  the  fupprintendents  of  the  Cor 
prefs,  who  undertake  to  print  them  at  their  o 
zard,  to  the  danger  of  a  confiderable  lofs.     Bj 
efforts  the  French  have  compiled  their  fluper 
pofitories  of  univerfel  knowledge ;  and  by 
forts  only  can  we  hope  to  rival  them,  or 
over  our  own  country  and  the  reft  of  Eufop' 
attainable  by  our  uljiatic  Re/earches. 


.>' 


(  67  y 


IV. 


A  LETTER 

FKOM 

TJJM  LjTTE  henry  FJNSITI^RT,  55Q, 

TQ  TIfE  PRESIDENT, 
Sir, 

HAVING  fome'  time  ago  met  with  a  Per^n 
abridgment^  compofed  by  Mauhvi  Khairuddin, 
of  the  q/rarul  Afaghinahy  or  the  fecrets  of  the  Afghans^ 
a  book  written  in  the  Pujhto  language  by  Hufain^  th« 
fon  of  Sahir^  the  foii  of  Khizr,  the  difciple  of  Hazrat 
Shah  Kafrm  Suhimaniy  whofe  tomb  is  m  Chtmargur^ 
J  was  induced  to  tranilate  it.  Although  it  opens  with 
a  very  wild  defcription  of  the  origin  of  that  tribe,  and 
contains  a  narrative  whichxan  by  no  means  be  offered 
vpoa  the  whole  as  a  ferious  and  probable  hiftory  i 
yet  I  conceive  that  the  knowledge  of  what  a  nation 
fuppofe  themfelves  to  be,  may  be""  interefting  to  a  So- 
ciety like  this,  as  well  as  of  what  they  really  are.  In- 
deedj  the  commencement  of  almoft  every  hiftory  is 
fabulous;  and  the  moft  enlightened  nations^  after 
they  have  arrived  at  that  degree  of  civili2:ation  and 
importance  which  has  enabled  and  induced  them  to 
commemorate  their  aftions,  have  always  found  a  va- 
cancy at  their  outfet,  which  inveption,  or  at  beft  pi:«-' 
fumption,  muft  fupply.  Such'  fiftions  appear  at  firft 
in  the  form  of  traditions ;  and  having  in  this  fhape 
amufcd  fuccelKve  generations  by  a  gratification  of 
their  national  vanity,  they  are  committed  to  writing, 
and  acqv\ire  t;he  authority  of  hiftory. 


Sccoo^fS^ibettvfc\^'\vveVaft»^  •   ^  foretime 

vso-^^  sir. 


(    «9    ) 


out 

THE  DESCENT  OF  THE  AFGHANS 
FROM  THE  JEWS. 

rTTWE  Afghans  J  accbrdihg  to  their  own  traditionSt 

I      are  the  pofterity  pf  Jfefc&_^3i^/«t.(kiiig  Saul) 

iwno,  in  the  opinion  of  fomt,  vas  a  defcendant  of  Ju^ 

^^,theibn  oi  Jacob  i  and,  according  to  others^  of  Bert- 

jatnin^  the  brother  of  Jojeph. 


-  -  I  •     *-  • " 


.  In  a  war  which  raged  betwi^n  the  children  of  Ifrael 
and  the  AmaUkiies^  the  latter  being  viAorious,  plun- 
dered the  Jevos^  and  obtained  pofleflfion  of  the  ark 
of  the  covenant.  Confidering  this  the  god  of  the 
Jews\i  they  threw  it  into  the  fire,  which  did  not  aflFeft 
it.  They  afterwards  attempted  to  cleave  it  with  axes, 
but  without  fuccefs  :  every  individual  who  treated  it 
with  indignity  was  punifhed  for  his  temerity.  They 
then  placed  it  in  their  temple;  but  all  their  idols  bow- 
ed to  It.  At  length  they  fattened  it  upon  a  cow,  which 
they  turned  loofe  in  a  wildernefs. 

When  the  prophet  Samuel  arofe,  the  children  of 
Ifrael  faid  to  him,  **  We  have  been  totally  fubdued 
"  by  the  Amalehtesj  and  have  no  king.  Raife  to  us 
"  a  king,  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  contend  for  the 
"  glory  of  God."  Samuel  faid,  **  In  cafe  you  are  led 
''  out  to  battle,  are  you  determined  to  figftt  ?**  They 
anfwered,  ^<  What  has  befallen  us  that  we  fllould  not 
**  fight  againft  infidels  ?  That  nation  has  banilhed 
•*  us  firom  our  country  and  children."  At  this  time 
the  angel  G^MV/defcended,  and,  delivering  a  wandt 
faid,  "  It  is  the  command  of  God  that  the  perfpnr 
•*  whofe  ftature  (hall  correfpond  with  this  wand,  (|iaU 
i)e  king  of  lfraeU\ 


yO  ON  THE  DESCEVT  OF  TflE 

Melic  TaJuf  was  at  that  time  a  man  of  inferior  con« 
dition,  and  performed  the  humble  employment  of 
feeding  the  goats  and  (^ows  of  others.  One  day  a 
cow  under  his.  charge  was  accidentally  loftr  Being 
difappointed  in  his  (earches^  he  was  greatly  diftreSedy 
and  applied  to  Samuel^  faying,  *^  I  have  lofl  K,  coWf 
*^  and  do  not  poflefs  the  means  of  fatisfying  the  Owner. 
'^  Pray  for  me^  that  I  may  be  extricat^  from  this 
^*  difficulty •"  Satmielj  perceiving  that  he  was  a  man 
*  of  lofty  ftature^  alked  his  namb.  He  anfwered^  TaluU 
Samuel  .then  fiiid,  '<  Meafure  Tli/i^/  with  the  wand 
♦'  which  the  angel  Gabriel  brought."  Hir  ftature 
was  equal  to  it.  Samuel  ^tn  faid,  '^  Godhg^  raifed 
Talut  to  be  your  king.'*  The  children  of  IJmelzxi^ 
Iwercd,  **"Weare  greater  than  our  king.  We  arc 
^'  men  of  dignity,  and  he  is  of  inferior  condition. 
*^  How  (hall  he  be  our  krn^."  Samuel  informed  them 
ihey  (hould  know  that  God  had  conftituted  Taba 
their  king,  by  his  refloripg  the  ark  of  the  covenant. 
He  accordingly  reftored  it,  and  they  acknowledged 
him  their  foyereign. 

After  Talut  obtained  the  kingdom^  he  feizecT  part 
pf  the  territories  of  Jaht^  or  Goliah,  who  affembled  a 
large  army^  but  was  killed  by  David.  Talut  after- 
Wards  died  a  martyr  in  a  war  againft  the  infidels ;  and 
God  cohftituted  David  king  of  the  Jews. 

Melic  Talut  had  two  fons,  one  called  Berkia^  and 
the  other  Jrmiay  who  ferved  David^  and  were  beloved 
by  him.  •  He  fent  them  to  fight  againft  the  infidels  f 
l&nd^  by  God's  afliftance,  they  were  vidtorious. 

The  Ton  of  Berkia  was  caUed  Afghariy  and  the  foil 
of  Irmia  was  named  UJbec.  Thofe  youths  diffin- 
guiflhed  themifelves  in  the  reign  of  David,  and 
^^e.  QiDj^loyed  by  Siokmon.      Zifghan   wag  difiin« 


Atr^fiAKS  FROM  THE  JSWS;  jf 

guifhed  by  his  corporal  (Irength,  Which. (Iruck  ter- 
ror into  Demons  and  Genii;  C!/bec  was  eminent  for 
his  learning. 

Afghan  tifed  freqiiehtly  to  make  exciiriiohs  to  the 
mountams ;  wherb  bis  pix>geny,  after  his  death  eftab-^ 
lifhed  themfelves,  lived  in  a  ftate  of  independence^ 
built  forts,  and  exterminated  the  infidels; 

When  the  feledt  of  creatures,  Muhammed,  appeared 
iipon  earth,  hisfame  reached  the  Afghans ^  who  fought 
him  in  multitudes  under  their  leaders  Khalid  and 
jibdulRaJhidi  fons  of  Walid.  The  prophet  ho- 
noured .them  with  the  moft  graciotis  reception,  fay- 
ing, f*  Come,  O  Muluc,  or  Kings  j"  whence  they 
aiTumed  the  title  of  Melic^  which  they  enjoy  to  this 
day^  The  prophet  gave  them  his  enfign^  and  laid 
that  the  faith  would  be  ftrengtbened  by  them. 

Many  fons  wete  born  of  Khalid^  the  fon  of  IVa^ 
lidi  who  fignalized  themfelves  in  the  prefence  of  the 
prophet,  by  fighting  againft  the  infidels.  Muhammed 
honoured  and  prayed  for  them; 

In  the  reign  of  Sultan  M/At/zwJ  of  Ghaznah,  eight, 
men  arrived,  of  the  pofterity  of  KhaJ'td  the  fon  of 
Walidy  whofe  names  were  KaJun,  Alun^  Daud, 
Yaliuij  Ahmed,  uiwin,  and  Ghazi.  The  SuItaA  was 
much  pleafed  with  thein,  and  appointed  each  a  com- 
mander in  his  army.  He  alfo  conferred  on  them  the 
offices  of  Fazir^  and  Fakili  Mutlak,  ot  Regent  of 
the  Empire. 

Wherever  they  were  ftationed  they  obtiaincd  pof-^ 
fefiion  of  the  country,  built  mofques,  and  over- 
threw the  temples  of  idols.  They  encreafed  fo 
^iuch;    that   the   army   of    Mahmucf   wa$    chiefly 

?4 


72  OK  THE  DESCENT  OF  THE 

compofed  of  jifghans.  When  Herhmdi  a  powerful 
prince  of  Hinduftaity  meditated  an  invafion.  of  Ghax^ 
nahy  Sultan  Mahmud  difpatched  againfl  htm  the 
defcendants  of  Khalid  with  twenty  thoufand  horfe: 
a  batde  enfued ;  the  Afghans  made  the  attack  ;  and, 
after  a  fevere  engagement,  which  laded  from  day-' 
break  till  noon,  defeated  H^rhltidj  killed  many  of  the 
iiiiidels,  and  converted  fome  to  the  Mtihammedau 
faith. 

.   The  Afghans  now  began  to  eftablifli  themfelves  in 
the  mountains ;  and  fome  fettled  in  cities  with  the 
permiflion  of  Sultan  Mahmud.    They  framed  regu- 
lations, dividing  themfelves  into  four  clafles,  agree* 
ably  to  the  following  defcription : — ^The  firft  is  the 
pure   ciafs,  coniifling  of  thofe   whofe  Others   and 
mothers  were  Afghans.      The  fecond  clafs  confifts 
of  thofe  whofe  fathers  were  Afghans^  and  mothers 
of  another  nation.       The  third  clafs  contains  thole 
whofe  mothers  were  Afghans^  and  fathers  of  another 
nation.      The  fourth  clafs  is  compofed  of  the  chil« 
dren  of  women  whofe  mothers  were  Afghans^  and 
fathers  and  hufbands  of  a  different  nation.     Perfbns 
who  do  not  belong  to  one  of  thefe  clafles,  are  not 
called  Afghans. 

After  the  death  of  Sultan  Mahmud  they  made  anou* 
ther  fettlement  in  the  mountains.  Shthahuddm 
Gaurif  a  fubfequent  Sultan  of  Ghaxnah^  was  twice 
repulfcd  from  Hindujian.  His  Vazir  aflembled  the 
people,  and  alked  if  any  of  the  pofterity  of  Khalid 
were  living.  They  anfwered,  *^  Many  now  live 
**  in  a  ftate  of  independence  in  the  mountains, 
f«  where  ihey  have  a  confiderable  army.**  The 
Va%ir  requefted  them  to  go  to  the  mountains,  and 
by  entreaties  prevail  on  the  Afghans  to  come ;  for 
they,  were  the  defcendapts  of  companions  of  the 
proph^  . 


AFGHANS  FROM  THE  JSWS»  J^ 

The  inhabitants  of  Ghaznah  undertook  this  em- 
baiTy,  and,  by  entreaties  and  prefems,  conciliated  the 
minds  of  the  Afghans,  who  promifed  to  engage  in  the 
ferviceof  the  Sultan,  provided  he  would  himfelf  come 
and  enter  into  an  agreement  with  them.  The  Sultan 
vifited  them  in  their  mountains,  honoured  them,  and 
gave  them  dreffes  and  other  prefents.  They  fupplied 
bim  with  twelve  thoufand  horfe,  and  a  confiderable 
army  of  infantry.  Being  difpatched  by  the  Sultan 
before  his  own  army,  they  took  Dehli,  killed  Roy  Pah* 
toura  the  king,  his  minillers  and  nobles ;  laid  wade 
the  city,  and  made  the  infidels  prifoners.  They  after- 
wards exhibited  nearly  the  fame  fcene  in  Canauj. 

The  Sultan,  pleafcd  by  the  rcdudion  of  thofe  cities, 
conferred  honours  upon  the  Afghans.  It  is  faid  that 
he  then  gave  them  the  tides  of  Patan  and  Khan.  The 
word  Patan  is  derived  fiom  the  Hindi  verb  Paifna^  to 
rujk^  in  allulion  to  their  alacrity  in  attacking  the  ene. 
my.  The  Paians  have  gready  diftinguiftied  them- 
(elves  in  the  hiftory  of  Hindujlany  and  are  divided 
into  a  variety  of  feds. 

The  race  of  Afghans  poflefled  themfclves  of  the 
Mountain  of  Solomon,  which  is  near  Kandahar,  and  the 
circumjacent  country,  where  they  have  built  forts* 
this  tribe  has  furnilhed  many  kings.  The  following 
monarchs  of  this  race  have  fat  upon  the  throne  of 
JDehli : — -Sultan  BehJohy  Afghan  Lodi,  Sultan  Secan^ 
der.  Sultan  Ibrahim,  Shir  Shah,  IJIum  Shah,  Add  Shah 
Sur.  They  alfo  number  the  following  kings  of  Gaur: 
—Solaiman  Shah  Gurxavi,  Bayazid  Shah^  and  Kutb 
Shah  \  befides  whom  their  nation  has  produced  many 
conquerors  of  provinces.  The  Afghans  are  called  So* 
laimani,  either  becaufc  they  were  formerly  the  fub- 
jcfts  oi  Solomon,  king  of  the  Jews,  or  bccaufe  they  in- 
habit the  Mountain  of  Solomon. 


74  0*^  TfHE  DESCENT. OP  TkE 

The  tranflation  being  finifhed,  I  (hall  only  add  that 
the  country  of  the  Ajghans^  which  is  a  province  of 
Cahuly  was  originally  called  Roh^  and  from  hence  is 
derived  the  name  of  the  Rokillahs.  The  city,  which 
was  eftablilhed  in  it  by  the  Afghans^  was  called  by 
them  Paijhwer^  or  Paijhor,  and  is  now  the  name  of 
the  whole  diftrift.  The  fedks  of  the  Afghans^  or  P^- 
tatis^  are  very  numerous.  The  principal  are  thefe: — * 
Ladiy  Lohauui^  Sur^  Serwarriy  Yufufzihi^  Bangi/hy  Di' 
lazaiy  Khafti^  Yasiri,  Khail^  and  Baloje.  The  mean- 
ing of  Zihiy  is  offspring;  and  of  Khail,  feet.  A  veiy 
particular  account  of  the  Afghans  has  been  written  by 
the  late  Hqfiz  Rahmat  Khariy  a  chief  of  the  Rohillahs^ 
from  which  the  curious  reader  may  derive  much  infor- 
mation, They  are  Mufehians^  partly  of  the  Sunni^  and 
partly  of  tht'Shtah  perfuafion.  They  are  great  boaften 
of  the  antiquity  of  their  origin,  and  reputation  of  their 
tribe ;  but  other  Mufelmam  entirely  rejedt  their  claim, 
and  confider  them  of  modern  and  even  bafe  extrac- 
tion. However,  their  charafter  may  be  collefted  from 
hiftory,  they  have  dillinguifhed  themfelves  by  theif 
courage,  both  fingly  and  unitedly,  as  principals  and 
auxiliaries.  They  have  conquered  for  their  own  prin- 
ces and  for  foreigners,  and  have  always  been  confidcr- 
ed  the  main  ftrength  of  the  army  in  which  they  have 
ferved.  As  they  have  been  applauded  for  virtues, 
they  havealfo  been  reproached  for  vices,  having  fbme- 
times  been  guilty  of  treachery,  and  even  aded  the  bafe 
^rt  of  aiTaffin^^ 


ArOBAKS    FHOU   THS   JBWt.  7f 


^  Sfecimm  of  the  Fvshto  Languagb. 

O^  >     O    ^  O^  •  O     ■    •     O    J  o> 


r  the  opprcflion  of  tyrannical  rulers, 

re,  the  gi^ve,  and  PaiJIidr^  all  three  have  been 

nxd  equal. 

Hith  refpeft  to  praycrg  enjoined  by  the  Sunnahg 
are  remitted. 

is  thus  exprelTed  in  the  reports  : 

^  n   ^      O      n    ^   ^      s-     y^      o        -wx-yO         5j^       > 

jj'c^T^.  u-^*-^*  c^  ^^^j*^  *»y.^  ^j'  c^^^ 

f  a  fm/«  perform  them,   it  is  very  laudable.      If 
do  not  perform  them,  it  is  no  crime  in  him. 


o  >       o       >o  o  ^        >      >       > 


yy  y        4^  O  y  O  y  yy  my  • 

^lie  difpofition  be  not  good,  0  Mirzd^ 

liat  difference  is  there  between  a  Sayyed  and  a 


\  I 


J9  REMARKS  ON  TItE  ISLAND 

jiefs.  The  weather  was  fair,  the  water  fmooth ;  and  t 
gentle  breeze  drove  us  eafily  before  dinner- time  round 
^  rock,  on  which  the  Brilliant  ftruck  juft  a  year  before, 
into  a  commodious  road*,  where  we  dropped  our 
tochor  early  in  the  evening.  We  had  feen  Mohi^, 
another  fifter  ifland^  in  the  courfe  of  the  day. 

The  frigate  was  prefently  furrounded  with  canocp, 
Ind  the  deck  foon  crowded  with  natives  of  all  ranks^ 
from  the  high-born  chief,  who  waflied  linen,  to  the 
half-naked  flave,  who  only  paddled.  Moft  of  them 
had  letters  of  recommendation  from  EngUJhmeny  whicli 
none  of  them  were  able  to  read,  though  they  fpoke 
EngUJh  intelligibly  f  and  fome  appeared  vain  of  titles, 
which  our  countrymen  had  given  them  in  play,  ac« 
tording  to  their  fuppofed  ftations.  We  had  Lords ^ 
Dukesy  and  Princes  on  board,  foliciting  our  cuftom, 
and  importuning  us  for  prefents.  In  fa6b,  they  were 
too  fenfible  to  be  proud  of  empty  founds,  but  jufrly 
imagined,  that  thofe  ridiculous  titles  would  ferve  as 
iparks  of  diftindtion,  and,  by  attracting  notice,  pro- 
cure for  them  fomething  fubftantial.  The  only  men 
of  real  confequence  in  the  ifland,  whom  we  faw  before 
we  landed,  were  the  Governor  Ahdullahj  fecond  cou- 
fin  to  the  king,  and  his  brother  Alwi^  with  their  fede- 
ral Tons ;  all  of  whom  will  ^ain  be  particularly  men- 
tioned :  they  underftood  Arabic j  feemed  zealots  in 
the  Mohammedan  faiths  and  admired  my  copies  of  the 
Alkoran ;  fome  verfes  of  which  they  read,  whilft  AU 
ivi  perufed  the  opening  of  another  Arabian  manu- 
fcript,  and  explained  it  in  EngUJh  more  accurately 
th^li  could  have  been  ezpedted. 

The  next  morning  fhowed  us  the  ifland  in  all  its 
beauty  s  and  thefcene  was  fo  divedified,  tlvit  a  di& 


•  ■ 

^  Ul  i/^W  4f  S.  Lopg.  44^  2i'  s^'  E.>y  the  Wj&tf. 


OF  HINZUAN,   OR  JOKAlfl^A.  J^ 

tioSt  view  of  it  could  hardly  have  been  exhibited  by 
the  beft  pencil :    you   muft,  therefore,   be  fatisfied 
with  a  mere  defcription,  written  on  the  very  fpot, 
and  compared  attentively  with  the  natural  landfcape. 
We  were  at  anchor  in  a  fine  bay,  and  before  us  was 
a  vaft  amphitheatre,  of  which  you  may  form  a  ge- 
neral notion  by  pifturing  in  your  minds  a  multi- 
tude of  hills  infinitely  varied  in  fize  and  figure,  and 
then  fuppofing  them  to  be  thrown  together,  with  a 
kind  of  artlefs  fymmetry,    in  all   imaginable   pofi- 
tions.      Th?  back  ground   was  a  feries  of  moun- 
tsuns,    one  of  which   is  pointed,  near  half  a  mile 
perpendicularly  high  from  the  level  of  the  fea,  and 
little  more  than  three  miles  from  the  (hore :    all  of 
them  were  richly  clothed  with  wood,  chiefly  fruit- 
trees,  of  s^n  exquifite  verdure.     I  had  feen  many  a 
mountain  of    a   ftupendous  height   in    ff^ales    and 
Swijferhn^y   but  never  faw  one  before,    round  the 
bofom  of  which  the  clouds   were   almoft  continu- 
ally rolling,  while  its  green  fummit  rofe  flourilhing 
above  theqj,  and  received  from  them  an  additional 
brightnefs.     Next  to  this  diftant  range  of  hills  was 
another  tier,    part   ot  which  appeared    charmingly- 
verdant,  and  part  rather   barren ;    but  the  contraft 
of     coloufs    changed    even    this   nakednefs   into  a 
beauty.     Nearer  ftill  were  innumerable  mountains, 
or  rather  cliffs,  which  brought  down  their  verdure 
and  fertility  quite  to  the  beach ;  fo  that  every  Qiade 
of  green,  the  fweeteft  of  colours,  was  dilplayed  at* 
one  vievy  by  land  and  by  water.     But  nothing  con- 
duced more  to  the  variety  of  this  enchanting  prof- 
pe6t,    than  the   many   rows   of  palm-trees,    efpeci- 
ally  the  tall  and  graceful  Arecas  on  the  (hores,  in 
the  valleys,  and  on  the  ridges  of  hills,  where  one 
might  almofl  fuppofe  them  to  have  been  planted 
regularly  by  defign.     A  more  beautiful  appearance 
can  fcarce  be  conceived,  than  fuch  a  number  of  ele- 
gant palps  in  fuch  a  fituation,  with  luxuriant  tops, 
"like  vcrijiant  plumes,  placed  at  juft  iatervals,  and 


f.. 


V 


->, 


to  REMARKS  ON  THE  ISLAND 

(bowing  between  them  part  of  the  remoter  landfcape^.l 
while  ^hey  left  the  reft  to  be  fupplied  by  the  be- 
holder's  imagination.  The  town  of  Matfmnudo  lay 
in  our  left,  remarkable  at  a  diftance  for  the  tower 
of  the  principal  mofque,  which  was  built  by  HaU* 
mah^  a  queen  of  the  iiland,  from  whom  the  pre- 
fent  king  is  defcended :  a  little  on  our  right  was  a 
fmall  town,  called  Bantani.  Neither  the  territory  of 
IJice^  with  its  olives,  date-trees,  and  cyprefles,  nor 
the  ifles  of  HiereSy  with  their  delightful  orange- 
groves,  appeared  fo  charming  to  me  as  the  view 
from  the  road  of  ITinzuan;  which,  neverthelefe,  is 
far  furpafled,  as  the  Captain  of  the  Crocodile  afTured 
us,  by  many  of  the  iflands  in  the  Southern  Ocean. 
If  life  were  not  too  (hort  for  the  complete  dtfcharge 
of  all  our  refpeftive  duties,  public  and  private,  and 
for  the  acquifition  even  of  neceffary  knowledge  in 
any  degree  of  perfedion,  with  how  much  pleafurc 
and  improvement  might  a  great  part  of  it  be  fpent 
in  admiring  the  beauties  of  this  wonderful  orb,  and 
contemplating  the  nature  of  man  in  all  its  varieties ! 

We  haftened  to  tread  on  firm  land,  to  which  wc 
had  been  fo  long  difufed,  and  went  on  fliore,  after 
breakfaft,  to  fee  the  town,  and  return  the  Governor's 
vifit.  As  we  walked,  attended  by  a  crowd  of  natives^ 
I  furpiized  them  by  reading  aloud  an  Arabic  infcrip- 
tion  over  the  gate  of  a  mofque,  and  ftill  more,  when 
1  entered  it,  by  explaining  four  fentences,  which  were 
written  very  diftinftly  on  the  wall,  fignifying,  **  that 
•*  the  world  was  given  us  for  our  own  edification, 
•'  not  for  the  purpofe  of  raifing  fumptuous  build* 
«'  ings;  life,  for  the  difcharge  of  moral  and  reli- 
gious duties,  not  for  pleafurable  indulgences  j 
wealth,  to  be  liberally  beftowed,  not  avaricioufly 
hoarded ;  and  learning,  to  produce  good  a6lions^ 
**  not  empty  difputes."  We  could  not  but  refpe6t 
the  temple  ^ven  of  a  falfe  prophet^    in  which  w<^ 


•cc 


'^  C^  dm^2UAK>  OR  JOIiAKHA.  Si 

Ibund  fuch  excellent  morality  t  we  faw  nothing  bet- 
tef  among  the  Roml/h  trumpery  in  the  church  at  Ma* 
deira.  When  we  came  to  AbdullaV%  houfe,  we  were 
condufted  through  a  fmall  court-yard  into  an  open 
room,  on  each  fide  of  which  was  a  large  and  conve-* 
nient  fofa,  and  above  it  a  high  bed-place  in  a  dark 
recefs,  over  which  a  chintz  counterpoint  hung  down 
from  the  ceiling.  This  is  the  general  form  of  the  beft 
rooms  \n  the  ifland ;  and  mofl  of  the  tolerable  houfes 
have  a  fimilar  apartment  on  the  oppofite  fide  of  the 
court,  that  there  may  be  at  all  hours  a  place  in  the 
ihade  for  dinner,  or  for  repofe.  We  were  entertained 
with  ripe  dates  from  Yemertj  and  the  milk  of  cocoa- 
nuts;  but  the  heat  of  the  room,  which  feemed  acceffi- 
ble  to  all  who  chofe  to  enter  it/and  the  fcent  of  muik» 
or  civet,  with  which  it  was  perfumed,  foon  made  us 
defirous  of  breathing  a  purer  air;  nor  could  I  be 
detained  long  by  the  Arabic  manufcripts  which 
the  Governor  produced^  but  which  appeared  of  lit- 
tle ufe,  and  confequently  of  no  value,  except  to  fuch 
as  love  mere  curiofities.  One  of  them,  indeed,  relat- 
ing to  the  penal  law  of  the  Mohammedans j  I  would 
^adly  have  purchafed  at  a  juft  price  ;  but  he  knew  not 
what  to  afk ;  and  I  knew  that  better  books  on  that  fub- 
jed:  might  be  procured  in  Bengal.  He  then  offered 
me  a  black  boy  for  one  of  my  Alkorans,  and  preffed 
me  to  barter  an  Indian  drefs,  which  he  had  feen  on 
board  the  (hip,  for  a  cow  and  calf.  The  golden 
flippers  attracted  him  moft,  fince  his  wife,  he  faid, 
would  like  to  wear  them ;  and,  for  that  reafon,  I 
made  him  a  prefent  of  them  ;  but  had  deftined  the 
book  and  the  robe  for  his  fuperior.  No  high  opi- 
nion could  be  formed  of  Sayyad  Abdullahy  who 
feemed  very  es^er  for  gain,  and  very  fervile  where 
be  e3q>ed:ed  it. 

*  Our  next  vifit  was  to  Shaikh  Salim^  the  kinrV 
Clden  (on ;  and  if  we  had  feen  blm  firft.  the  itatc 
■   Vol.  JL  G 


/■'■-   V 

'  *•     ■       ■ 

?.  -.■.•  ■  ■  -"I 

X '    : 
■  1 


9%  REMARKS  ON  THE  IStAKD  ^'*^ 

cf  civilization  in  Hinzuan  would  have  appeared  ak 
its  loweft  ebb.  The  worft  EngJi^  hackney  in  thd 
worft  flable  is  better  lodged,  and  looks  more  princely 
than  this  heir  apparent;  but  though  his  mien  and 
apparel  were  extremely  favs^,  yet  allowance  (hould 
have  been  made  for  his  illnefs;  which,  as  we  after^ 
>>  l^ards  learned,  was  an  abfcefs  in  the  fpleen  :  a  .difor« 
der  not  uncommon  in  that  country,  and  frequently 
cured,  agreeably  to  the  j^rabian  practice,  by  the  aftuiu 
cautery.  He  was  incefl'antly  chewing  pieces  of  the 
Areca-nut  with  fhelMime :  a  cuflom  borrowed,  I  fup^ 
J)ofe,  from  the  Indians^  who  greatly  improve  the 
compofition  with  fpices  and  betel-leaves^  to  which 
they  formerly  added  camphor :  all  the  natives  of 
tank  chewed  it,  but  not^  I  think,  to  fo  great  an  ex* 
cefs.  Prince  Salim  from  time  to  time  gazed  at  him^' 
felf  with  complacency  in  a  piece  of  broken  looking* 
glafs,  which  was  glued  on  a  fmall  board :  a  fpecimen 
of  wretchednefs,  which  we  obfervcd  in  no  other 
houfe ;  but  many  circumftances  convinced  us  that 
the  apparently  low  condition  of  his  royal  highnefi^ 
who  was  not  on  bad  terms  with  his  father,  and  ieem« 
ed  not  to  want  authority,  proceeded  wholly  from  his 
^avarice.  His  brother  Haindullah^  who  generally  fc- 
lides  in  the  town  of  Dofnoni,  has  a  very  difrerent  cbsk 
rafter,  being  efteemed  a  man  of  worth,  good  fenie» 
and  learning  :  he  had  come,  the  day  before,  to  Aft/* 
/amudoy  on  hearing  that  an  U^ngliJA  frigate  was  in  <he 
road ;  and  I,  having  gone  out  for  a  few  minutes  to 
read  an  Arabic  inlcnption,  found  him  on  my  rettini 
devouring  a  manufcript  which  I  had  left  with  iocnt  of 
the  company.  He  is  a  Kadi  or  Mohammedan  yxxA^ti 
And  as  he  feemed  to  have  more  knowledge  than  hii 
countrymen,  I  was  extremely  concerned  that  I  had  (o 
little  converfation  with  him.  The  king.  Shaikh  Ah" 
med^  has  a  younger  fon,  named  /Ibdullah^  whofe  ufuj 
refidence  is  in  the  town  of  Ifani^  which  he  feldbi 
leaves,  as  the  ilate  of  his  health  ^  is  very  infw 
Since  the  fucceflion  to  th^  title  and  authomy  of  & 


bP  klNZiXAN,   OR  JOHANNA;  ftj 

sfcni  i^  not  unalterably  fixed  in  one  line,  but  requires 
confirmation  by  the  chiefs  of  the  ifland,  it  is  not  im^ 
probable  that  they  may  hereafter  be  conferred  oa 
prince  HamduUahi 

A  little  beydnd  the  hole  in  which  Salhn  received 
us,  was  his  haram^  or  the  apartment  of  his  women ^ 
which  he  permitted  us  all  to  fee,  not  through  polite- 
nefs  to  ftrangers,  as  We  believed  at  firft,  but  as  I 
learned  afterwards  from  his  own  lips^  in  expeftatioa 
of  a  prefent.  W^  faw  only  two  or  three  miferable 
tre^tures  with  their  heads  covered,  while  the  favour- 
ite^  as  we  fuppofed,  flood  behind  a  coarfe  curtain^ 
and  (howed  her  ankles  under  it,  loaded  with  filver 
Ungs  i  which,  if  (he  was  capable  of  refledtion,  (he 
mud  have  tonfidered  as  glittering  fetters  rather  than 
ornaments ;  but  a  ratiohal  being  would  have  preferred 
the  condition  of  a  wild  beaft,  expofed  to  perils  and 
hunger  in  a  foreft,  to  the  fplendid  mifery  of  being 
wife  or  miftrefs  to  Salimi 

,  Alix)i  was  defirous  of  fliowing 
tne  his  books  ^  but  the  day  was  too  far  advanced, 
and  I  promifed  to  vifit  him  fome  other  morning; 
The  governor  however  prevailed  on  us  to  fee  his  palace 
in  the  country,  where  he  invited  us  to  dine  the  next 
day.  The  walk  was  extremely  pkafant  from  the  town 
to  the  fide  of  a  rivulet^  which  formed  iii  one  part  a 
•imall  pool  very  convenient  for  bathing,  and  thenc^ 
through  groves  and  alleys  to  the  foot  of  a  hill ;  but 
the  dining-room  was  little  better  than  an  open  barn, 
and  was  recommended  only  by  the  coolnefs  of  its 
fliade.  AhduUah  would  accompany  us  on  our  return 
to  the  (hip,  together  with  two  Muftis  who  fpoke  Ara^ 
lie  indifferently,  and  feemed  eager  to  fee  all  my  ma^ 
nufciripts  i  but  they  were  very  moderately  learned^ 
and  gazed  with  ftupid  wonder  on  a  fine  copy  of  the 
>^an^fahi  and  on  other  coUedions  of  ajietem  pQetr)%. 

G  a 


'.  / 


t/L  llfiMARKS  OK  THE  ISLAN1>  .'I 

■  ■*  *' 

Early  the  next  morning  a  black  melTenger,  wiA  i|   ' 
tawny  lad  as  his  interpreter,  came  from  prince  Salim  ) 
who  having  broken  his  perfpedtive  glafs,  wifhed  to 
procure  another  by  purchafe  or  barter.     A  polite  an- 
fwer  was  returned,    and  ftcps  taken  to  gratify  his 
wiflies.     As  we  on  our  part  expreffed  a  defirc  to  vifit 
the  king  at  Domonij  the  prince's  meffenger  told  u% 
that  his  mafter  would,  no  doubt,    lend  us  palan* 
quins  (for  there  was  not  a  horfe  in  the  ifland)  and 
order  a  fufEcient  number  of  his  vaflals  to  carry  us, 
whom  we  might  pay  for  their  trouble  as  we  thought 
juft.      We  commiffioned  him  therefore  to  aik  that 
favour,  and  begged  that  all  might  be  ready  for  oar 
excurfion  before  fun-rife,  that  we  might  efcape  the 
heat  of  the  noon,  which,  though  it  was  the  middle  of 
winter,  we  had  found  exceffive.     The  boy,  whofe 
name  was  Combo  Madi^  ilaid  with  us  longer  tfaaa 
his  companion  :  there  was  fomething  in  his  look  fo 
ingenuous,  and  in  his  broken  Engli/h  fo  (imple,  that 
we  encouraged  him  to  continue  his  innocent  prattle. 
He  wrote  and  read  jiralnc  tolerably  well,  and  fet 
down  at  my  defire  the  names  of  feveral  towns  in  the 
iiland,  which  he  fird  told  me  was  properly  called  Hkt* 
zuan.     The  fault  of  begging  for  whatever  he  likedp^ 
he   had  in  common  with  the  governor  and  other 
nobles,  but  hardly  in  a  greater  degree :  his  firft  pe- 
tition for  fome  lavender-water  was  readily  granted^, 
and  a  fmall  bottle  of  it  was  fo  acceptable  to  him,  that 
if  we  had  fuffered  him,  he  would  have  kiffcd  our  feet  ^ 
but  it  was  not  for  himfelf  that  he  rejoiced  fo  extra- 
vagantly :   he  told  us^  with  tears  darting  from  his 
eyes,  that  his  mother  would  be  pleafed  with  it,  and 
the  idea  of  her  pleafure  feemed  to  fill  him  with  rap- 
ture.    Never  did  I  fee  filial  afFeftion  more  warmly 
felt,  or  more  tenderly  and,  in  my  opinion,  unaffedt- 
edly  expreffed;  yet  this  boy  was  not  a  favourite  of 
the  ofiicers,  who  thought  him  artful.     His  moiher^s 
juunc^  he  iaid^  was  iaiima  i  and  he  importgae4  us  cgi  ^ 


,  I    •. 


CfV  HINZUAK,  OR  JOHANNA. 


H 


fifii^Bcr;  conceiving,  I  fuppofe,   that  all  mankind 
muft  love  and  admire  her.     We  promifed  to  gratify 
him  ;  and  having  made  him  feveral  prefents,  permit- 
ted him  to  return.     As  he  reminded  me  of  AJaJdin  iii 
the  Arabian  tale,  I  defigned  to  give  him  that  name  in  a 
Jecommcndatory  letter,  which  he  prefled  me  to  vvrite^ 
inftead  of  St.  Domingo,  as  fome  European  vifitor  had 
ridicuoully  called  him;  but,  fince  the  allufion  would 
notliave  been  generally  known,  and  fince  the  title  of 
yilaiCldin^  or  efninence  in  faith^  might  have  offend  d 
his  fuperiors,  I  thought  it  advifeabie  for  him  to  keep 
his  Jf/ricanrn^mc.     A  very  indifferent  dinner  was 
prepared  for  us  at  the  houfe  of  the  Governor,  whom 
we  did  not  fee  the  whole  day,  as  it  was  the  beginning 
of  Ramadan^  the  Mohammedan  lent,  and  he  was  en- 
gaged in  his  devotions,  or  made  them  his  excufe; 
but  his  eideft  fon  fat  by  us  while  we  dine  J.,  together 
with:  Mufa^  who  was  employed,  jointly  with  his  bro- 
ther ,fl555/&/w,  as  purveyor  to  the  Captain  of  the  frigate. 

Having  obferved  a  vef  y  elegant  fhrub  that  grew 
abont  fix  feet  high,  in  the  court-yard,  but  was  not 
then  in  flower,  I  learned  with  pleafure,  that  it  was 
hinndj  of  which  I  had  read  fo  much  in  Arabian  poems, 
^d  V/h\ch  European  botanifts  have  ridiculoufly  named 
hanx^onia*  Mt'ifa  bruifed  fome  of  the  leaves,  and, 
having  nioiftened  them  with  water,  applied  them  to 
our  nails  and  the:  tips  of  our  fingers,  which  in  a  (hort 
time  became  of  a  dark  orange- fcarlet.  1  had  be- 
fore conceived  a  different  idea  of  this  dye,  and  ima- 
gined that  it  was  ufed  by  the  Arabs  to  imitate  the 
riatural  rednefs  of  thofe  parrs  in  young  and  healthly  per- 
fbhs,'  which  in  all  countries  mull  be  confidere.i  as  a 
beauty  :— perhaps  a  lefs  quantity  oihinna,  or  the  fame 
differently  prepared,  might  have  produced  that  efteit. 
Therold  mtn^n  Arabia  ufed  the  fame  dye  to  conceal 
their  grey  hairs,  while  their  daughters  were  dyeing  their 

G3 


\ 


t6  REMARKS  OK  THE  ISIAKB' 

lips  and  ^ms  black,  to  fet  off  the  whitenefs  tjf  lUitk] 
ttcth  J  fo  univerfal  ki  all  nations  and  ages  are  pci^ 
fonal  vanity  and  a  love  of  difguifing  truth ;  thougH 
in  all  cafes,  the  farther  our  fpecies  recede  from  na- 
ture, the  farther  they  depart  from  true  beauty ;  and 
men  at  leaft  (hould  difdain  to  ufe  artifice  or  deceit  for 
any  purpofe  or  on  any  occafion.  If  the  women  of  rank 
at  Paris,  or  thofe  in  London  who  wifli  to  imitate 
them,  be  inclined  to  call  the  Arabs  Barbarians,  let 
them  view  their  own  head  dreffcs  and  cheeks  in  a 
glafs,  and,  if  they  have  left  no  room  for  blulbes,  bo 
inwardly  at  leaft  afhamed  of  their  x:enfure. 

In  the  afternoon  I  walked  a  long  way  up  the  moun*    ' 
tains  in  a  winding  path, amid  plantsand  trees  no  lefs^hctiiF 
than  beautiful,  and  regretted  exceedingly  that  vwy 
few  of  them  were  in  bloffora,  as  I  (hould  then  hav^ 
had  leifure  to  examine  them.     Curiofity  led  me.ftom 
hill  to  hill }  and  I  came  at  laft  to  the  fqurces  of  a  £i« 
vulet,  which  we  had  pafled  near  to  the  (hore,  and  from 
which  the  (hip  was  to  be  lupplied  with  exccUenf  i^a- 
ter.       1  faw  no  birds  on  the  mountains  but  Gm* 
tiea-fowl^    which  might  have   been  eafily  caught: 
no    infeds  were   troublefome    to   me  but   mcuqui-^ 
tos ;    and   I  had  no   fear    of    venomous   reptileSy 
having  been  aflTured  that  the  air  was  too  pure  for 
any  to  exift  in  it;    but  I  was  often  unwillingly  i 
caufe  of  fear  to  the  gentle  and  harmlefs  lizard,  who 
ran  among  the  (hrubs.     On  my  return,  Imilfed  the 
path  by   which  I  had  afcendedj    hut,  having  met 
fome  blacks  laden  with  yams  and  plantains,  I  was 
by  them  direded  to  another,  which  led  me  round,, 
.through  a  charming  grove    of  cocoa-trees,   to   thei 
Governor's   countrv-feat,    where  our  entertainment 
was  clofed  by    a  fyllabub,  which   the   Englijh   hs^^ 
taught  the  Mufelmans  to  make  for  themik 


OF  HINZTTAN,  OR  JOHAKKA.  SJ 

We  received  no  anfwer  from  Salim ;  nor,  indeed, 
cxpeded  one ;  fince  we  took  for  grantecf  that  he 
could  not  but  approve  our  intention  of  vifiting  his 
lather ;  and  we  went  on  (hore  before  fun-rife,  in  full 
expe<%ation  of  a  pleafant  excurfion  to  Domoni:  but 
we  were  happily  difappointed.  The  fervants,  it  the 
prince's  door,  told  us  coolly,  that  their  mailer  was  in* 
difpofed,  and,  as  they  believed,  aflecp ;  that  he  had 
given  them  no  orders  concerning  his  palanquins,  and 
that  they  durft  not  difturb  him.  Alwi  foon  came  to 
pay  us  his  compliments,  and  was  followed  by  his 
cldeft  (on,  Ahmed^  with  whom  we  walked  to  the  gar- 
dens of  the  two  princes  SaTim  and  Hanidullah :  the 
fituation  was  naturally  good,  but  wild  and  defolate  ; 
and,  in  Salim^s  garden,  which  we  entered  through  a 
tniferable  hovel,  we  faw  a  convenient  bathing  place, 
well-built  with  ftone,  but  then  in  great  diforder,  and 
a  (hed,  by  way  of  fummer-houfe,  like  that  under 
which  we  dined  at  the  Governor's,  but  fmaller  and 
lefs  neat.  On  the  ground  there  lay  a  kind  of  cradle^ 
about  fix  feet  long,  and  a  little  more  thaq  one  foot  in 
)3readth,  made  of  cords  twifted  in  a  fort  of  clumfy 
jiet-work,  with  a  long  thick  bambu  fixed  to  each  fide 
of  it :  this,  we  heard  with  furprize,  was  a  royal  pa- 
lanquin,, and  one  of  the  vehicles  in  which  we  were 
,  intended  to  have  been  rocked  on  mens  (boulders 
over  the  mountains.  I  had  much  converfation  with 
Ahmed^  whom  I  found  intelligent  and  communica- 
tive :  he  told  me  that  feveral  of  his  countrymen  com- 
pofed  fongs  and  tunes ;  that  he  was  himfelf  a  paflion- 
ate  lover  of  poetry  and  mufic ;  and  that,  if  we  would 
dine  at  his  houfe,  he  would  play  and  fing  to  us.  We 
declined  his  invitation  to  dmner,  as  we  had  made  a 
conditional  promife,  it  ever  we  pafled  a  day  at  Mat^ 
famudo^  to  eat  our  curry  with  Bana  Gihuy  an  honeft 
man,  of  whom  we  purchafed  eggs  and  vegetables,  and 
to  whpm  fome  Engli/hnien  had  given  the  title  of  Lordj 
jsrbi^h  |»ade  hini  extremely  vain :  we  could  therefor 

Q4  V 


88  REMARKS  ON  THE  ISLAKD  ' 

t 

make  Sayyad  Ahmed  otA:^  a  morning  vifit.     He  fuiig 
a  hymn  dt  two  in  Arabic^  and  accompanied  his  drawl« 
ing,  though  pathetic,  pialmody  with  a  kind  of  man- 
doline, which  he  touched  with  an  awkward  quill :  the 
inftrument  was  very  imperfeft,  but  fecmed  to  give 
him  delight.     The  names  of  the  firings  were  writtca 
on  it  in  AraVtan  or  Indian  figures,  fimple  and  com- 
pounded ;  but  I  could  not  think  them  worth  copying* 
He  gave  Captain  WiUiamfony  who  wifhed  to  prcfcnt^ 
fome  literary  curiofities  to  the  library  at  Dublin^  a 
fmall  roll  containing  a  hymn  in  Arabic  letters,  but  in 
the  language  o(  Mombaza^  which  was  mixed. with 
Arabic,  but  it  hardly  deferved  examination,  (ince  the 
ftudy  of  languages  has  little  intrinfic  value,  and  ia 
only  ufeful  as  the  inflrument  of  real  knowledge,  which- 
we  can  fcarce  expedt  from  the  poets  of  the  Mozam^ , 
hique.     Ahmed  would,  I  believe,  have  heard  our  Eurt 
ropean  airs  (F  always  except  French  melody  j  with  rap- 
ture, for  his  favourite  tune  was  a  common  Irijh  jig^ 
with  which  he  feemed  wonderfully  affedted. 

On  our  return  to  the  beach  I  thought  of  vifit  ing 
old  Alwi^  according  to  my  promife,  and  prince  Salim^ 
whofe  charader  I  had  not  then  difcovered  :  1  refolved 
for  that  purpofe  to  flay  on  fliorc  alone,  our  dinner 
with  Gibu  having  been  fixed  at  an  early  hour.  AIwi 
inowed  me  his  manufcripts,  which  chiefly  related  to 
the  ceremonies  and  ordinances  of  his  own  religion  ; 
and  one  of  them,  which  I  had  formerly  feen  in  £u^ 
ropCy  was  a  colledion  of  fublime  and  elegant  hymns 
in  praife  of  Mohammed,  with  explanatory  notes  in  the 
margin.  I  requefted  him  to  read  one  of  them  after 
the  mariner  of  the  Arabs ;  and  he  chanted  it  in  a  flr^n 
by  no  means  unpleafing ;  but  I  am  perfuaded  that  he 
underflood  it  very  imperfeftly.  The  roorn^  whiclj 
was  open  to  theftreet,  was  prefently  crowded  with  vi- 
fitors,  mofl  of  whom  were  Mupisy  or  Expounders 
of  the  Law'y  and  Alw^  defirous  perhaps  to  difplay 


I 

OF  HINZ-UAN,  OR  jOtf ANNA.  8^^ 

Vis  zeal  before  them  at  the  expence  of  go6d  breed- ' 
ing,  dir-f'ftod  my  attention  to  a  paflage  in  a  commcn-' 
taiyon  the  Koran,  v^'h':ch.  I  found  levelled  at  the 
Chri/iians.  The  ccmmentator,  having  relied  with' 
fome  additions  (but  on  the  whole  not  inaccurately)' 
the  circumftancefe  of  the. temptation,  puts  this  fpeech 
into  the  mouth  of  the  tempter :  *'  Though  I  am  un- 
*.'  able  to  delude  thee,  yet  I  will  miflead,  by  thy 
means,  more  human  creatures  than  thou  wilt  fct 
"  right,"  ^  Nor  was  this  menace  vain  (fays  the 
Mohammedanvinitv)y  *  for  the  inhabitants  of  a  region 
*'  many  thoufand  leagues  in  extent,  are  ftill  fb  deluded 

*  by  the  Devil,  that  they  impioufly  call  Ifa  the  fbn  of 

*  GodI    Heaven  prefeirve  us,'  he  adds,    *  from  blaf- 

*  phcmilig  Chri/ttans  as  well  as  blafpheming  Je^Oos! — ^ 
Although  a  religious  difpute  with  thofe  obftinate  zea- 
lots would  have  been  unreafonable  and  fruitlefs,  yet 
they  dcferved,  I  thought,  a  flight  rfeprehenfion,  as  the 
attack  feemed  to  he  concerted  among  them.      *  The 

*  commentator,*  faid  1,  '  was  much  to  blamfe  for  paflSng 

*  fb  indifcriminate  and  hafty  a  cenfure:  th^  title',  which 

*  gave  your  legiflator  and  gives  you  fuch  offence,  wa* 
*ohen  applied  m  JvJea  (by  a  bold  figure  agreeable 

*  to  the  Hebrew  idiom,  though  unufual  in  Arabic) 

*  to  angels y  to  holy  men^  and  even  xo  dll  niankmdy  whd 

*  are  commanded  to  call  God  their  Father;-  zhd  in 

*  this  large  fenfe  the  apoflle,  to  thfe  Romam,  call* 

*  tht  ^ledl  the  children  of  God,  and  thfe  Mefftnh  thd 
^firft-horn  among  many  brethren ;  but'  the  words  only 
^ begot teti  ate  appITed  tranfcendently  and  incompa-' 
^  rably  to  him  alone*  j  and,  as  for  me  who  believes 

*  the  fcriptures,  which  you  alfo  profefs  to  believe,' 

*  though  you  afFert  without  proof  that  we  have  al- 

*  ttrtd  them,    I  cannot  refufe  hiixi  an  appellatibn, 

*  though  far  futpaffing  our  reafoii,  by  which  he  is 


^&oin«Tiii«  a9#  See  i  John  iii.  i.  IIrBarrow>«3i,  132,^51, 


fg/O  REMARKS  ON  THE  ISLAND 

•  diftinguiftied  in  the  Gofpcl;  and  the  believers  lA: 

•  Muhanuned^  who  exprefsly  name  him  the  Meffiah^ 

•  and  pronounce  him  to  have  been  born  of  a  virgin, 

•  which  alone  might   fully  juftify   the  phrafc  con* 

•  demned  by  this  author,  are  themfelves  condemn* 

•  able  tor  cavilling  at  words,  when  they  cannot  ob» 

•  jedl  to  the  fubftance  of  our  faith  confiftently  with 

•  their  own/     Th&^t^ltHans  had^«otiiiflg  to  fay  ia 
itplyj  and  the  converfation  was  changed. 

I  was  aftoniflied  at  the  queftions  which  AIwi  ptit 
to  me  concerning  the  late  peace  and  the  independence^ 
of  jimerica;   the  feveral   powers   and  refourccs  of 
Britain^  France^  S^pain^   and  Holland -y  the  charader 
and  fuppofed  vie»vs  of  the  Emperor;  the  com[>ara« 
dve  flrength  of  the  Ruffian^  Imperial,  and  Oihmaik 
armi^;  and  their  refpedive  modes  of  bringing  their 
forces  toaftion.     I  anfwered  him  without  relcrvc,  cxv 
cept  on  the  ftate  of  our  poffeflions  in  India ;   nor 
were  my  anfwers  loft,   for  I  obferved,  that  all  the 
company  were  varioufly  affeded  by  them,  gener^ljr 
with    amazement,    often    with    concern,    efpecially 
when  I  defcribed  to  them  the  great  force  and  adml 
mble  difcipline  of  the  Aujlr'ian  army,  and  the  ftiipir 
prejudices  of  tlie  Turks ^  whom  nothing  can  induce  f 
abandon  their  old  Tartarian  habits ;  and  expofed  t' 
weakhefs  of  their  empire  in  Africa^  and  even  in  t 
more  diftant  provinces  of  Afta.     In  return,  he  ga 
me  clear  but  general  information  concerning  the 
vernment  and  commerce  of  his  ifland  :    **  His  c 
f*  try,*'  he  {aid,  **  was  poor,  and  produced  few  ai 
**  of  trade ;  but  if  they  could  get  money,  which 
f*  now  preferred  ^0  play-things  j^  thefe  were  his  w 
**  they  might  eafily,*'  he  added,  *'  procure  fc 
4<  commodities,  and  excliange  them  advantaf 
**  with  their  neighbours  in  the  iflands  and 
^  continent.     Thus  with  a  little  money,"  f; 
*  ^'  we  purchase  n^uiket^^   powder^  balls;  c 


OF  HINZ'UAN,  OK  JOHANKA.  $1 

^  knives,  clothes,  raw  cotton,  and  other  articles 
*'  brought  fron^  Bombay ^  and  with  thefe  we  trade  to 
^*  Madagafcar  for  the  natural  produc  e  of  the  country 
*-*l3r  dollars^  with  which  the  French  buy  cattle^ 
*•  honey,  butter,  and  fo  forth,  in  that  ifland.  With 
^*  gold,  which  we  receive  from  your  (hips,  we  can 
^*  procure  elephants  teeth  from  the  natives  of  Afo- 
*•  zambiqtte,  who  barter  them  alfo  for  ammunition 
**  and  bars  of  iron  ;  and  the  Portugueze  in  that 
f*  country  give  us  cloths  of*  various  kinds  in  cx- 
*^  change  for  our  commodities  ;  thefe  cloth?  we  diC- 
**  pofe  of  lucratively  in  the  three  neighbouring  iflands, 
*^  whence  we  bring  rice,  cattle,  a  kind  of  bread-fruit, 
**  which  grows  in  Comara^  and  Jlaves^  which  we  buy 
**  alfo  at  other  places  to  which  we  trade;  aad  we 
**  carry  on  this  traffic  in  our  own  veffels.'* 

Here  I  could  not  help  expreffing  my  abhorrence  of 
iS^tivJlave- trade,  and  aflted  him  by  what  law  they 
claimed  a  property  in  rational  beings,  fince  our  Cre- 
ator had  given  our  fpecies  a  dominion,  to  be  mode- 
rately exercifed,  over  the  beafts  of  the  field  and  the 
fowls  of  the  air,  but  none  to  man  over  7nan.  •*  By  no 
f^  law,**  anfwered  he,  *^  unlefs  neceffity  be  a  law. 
f*  There  are  nations  in  Madagafcar  and  in  Africa^ 
^*  who  know  neither  God  nor  his  prophet,  nor  Mofes^ 
^*  nor  David,  nor  the  Mejfiah :  thofe  nations  are  in 
**  perpetual  war  and  take  many  captives,  whom,  if 
?*  they  could  not  fell,  they  would  certainly  kill,  In- 
*^  dividuals  among  them  are  in  extreme  poverty, 
^^  and  have  numbei  s  of  children,  who,  if  they  can- 
?*  not  be  difpofed  of,  muft  perifli  through  hunger, 
^*  together  with  their  miferable  parents.  By  purchaf* 
♦•  ing  thefe  wretches  we  preferve  their  lives,  and, 
^'perhaps,  (hofe  of  many  others  whom  our  money 
^*  relieves.  The  fum  of  the  argument  is  this  :  If  we 
<*  buy  them,  they  will  live;  it  they  become  valuable 
f*  fervants,  they  will  live  Comfortably ;  but,  if* they 
{{  are  not  fold,  they  muft  die  mif«abiy.''    ^  Therq 


92  .REMARKS  OK  THE  ISLAND 

maybe/  faid  I,  *  fuch  cafes ;  but  you  fdllacioiifly  di^asir 
a  general  conclufion  from  a  few  patticular  inftancc5^ 
pud  this  is  the  very  fallacy  which^  on  a  .thoiiianc^ 
other  occadons,  deludes  mankind.     It  is  not  to  b^ 
doubted  that  a  conflaht  and  gainful  traffic  in  hu-x^ 
man  creatures  foments  war,  in  which  captives  ar^ 
always  made,  and  keeps  ,up  that  pierpetual  enmity 
which'  you  pretend  to  be  the  caufe.  of  a  praftice  in 
itfclf  reprehenfible,  while  in  truth  it  is  its  effe6i.  The 
fame  traffic  encourages  lazinefs  in   fome  parents^ 
who  might  in  general  fupport  their  families  by  pro*  * 
per.induftry,  and  feduces  others  to  C.ifle  their  na* 
tural  feelings.     At  moft,  your  redemption  of  tbofe 
unhappy  children  can  amount  only  to  a  peifonal 
contraft  implied  between  you,  for  gratitude  and  rea-* 
fonable  fervice  on   their  part,    for  kindnefj.and 
humanity  on  yours ;  but  can  you  think  your  part 
performed  by  difpofing  of  them  againft  their  V^Hls, 
with  as  much  indifference  aa  if  you  were  felling 
cattle,  efpecially  as  they  might  become  readers  of  the 
Koran  J  and  pillars  of  your  faith  ?'  "  The  law,**  faid 
\\t^  **  forbids  our  felling  them^  when  they  are.  bof 
lievers  in  the  Prophet ;  and  little  children  only  arft 
fold;  nor  they  often,  or  by.all  mailers."     *  Ypuj- 
who  believe  in  Muhammedy    faid  .1,    *  are  bduAd^ 
by  the  fpirit  and  letter  of  his  lavi^,  to  take,  pains 
that  they,  ajfo  may  believe  in  him  y  and  if  you  nci 
gleft  fo  important  a  duty  for  foixiid  gain,,  I    do 
not  fee  how  you  can  hope  for  profperity  in  this  worldj 
or.  for  happinefs  in  the  next/     My  old  firiehd  and 
the  Muftis  alfented,  and  muttered  a  few  prayers;  but 
probably  forgot  my  preaching  before  niany  niitttites 
had.palfed.  .  '  ^ 

So  much  time  had  flipped  away  in  thjs  convciia* 
tion,  that  I  could  make  but  a  fliort  Vifit  to  Prijoce 
SaJimi  and  my  view,  in  vifiting  him  was  to  fix  tbt 
time  of  out  journey  to  Domom  as  early  as  pofCWe  on  . 
the  next:  morning*    His  appearance.  ^^%  oiore  iavagft  . 


OF  HINZITAN,  OF  JOHANKA.  ^J 

ihan  ever  ;  and  I  found  him  in  a  difpofition  to  C€>m« 
plain   bitterly  againft   the   Englijh.       No   acknow* 
ledgment,    he  faid,    had  been  made  for  the   kind 
attentions    of   himfelf   and   the  chief  men  of   his 
country  to  the  officers  and  people  of  the  Brilliant^ 
though  a  whole  year  had  elapfed  (ince  the  wreck, 
1  really  wondered  at  Ae  forgetfulnels,  to  which  alone 
iuch  a  negleA  could  be  imputed,  and  aflured  hint 
that  I  would  exprefs  my  opinion  both  in  Bengal  and 
in  letters  to  England.     *^  We  have  little,'*  laid  he, 
*^  to  hope  from  letters  ;  for,  when  we  have  been  paid 
"  with  them  inftead  of  money,    and  have   (hewn 
**  them  on  board  your  (hips,    we  have  commonly 
"  been  treated  with  difdain,  and  often  with  impreca- 
*^  tions.*'       I  aflured  him,  that  either  tho(e  letters 
mull  have  been  written  coldly  and  by  very  obfcure 
perfbns,  or  (hown  to  very  ill-bred   men,  of  whom 
there  were  too  many  in  all  nations ;  but  that  a  few 
inftances  of  rudenels  ought  not  to  give  him  a  general 
prejudixre  againft  our  national  charader.   **  But  you,'* 
laid  he,  "  kre  a  wealthy  nation,  and  we  are  indigent, 
*'  yet,    though  all  our  groves  of  cocoa-trees,    our 
^*  fruits,  and  our  cattle,  are  ever  at  your  fervice,  you 
**  always  try  to  make  hard  bargains  with  us  for  what 
"  you  chufe  to  difpofe  of;  and  frequently  will  neither 
**  fell  nor   give  thofe  things  which  we   principally 
•  **  want.'*      *  To  form/  faid  I,    *  a  juft  opinion  of 

*  Engli/hmeriy  you  muft  vifit  us  in  our  own  ifland, 
^  or  at  leaft  India ,  here  we  are  ft  rangers  and  travel- 
^lers:  many  of  us  have  no  defion  to  trade  in  any 

*  country,   and  none  of    us  think    of    trading    in 

*  Hmztian,  where  we  ftop  only  for  refreftiment. 
^  Tjbc  clothes,    arms,    or  inftruments,    which    you 

*  may  want,   are  commonly   necefTary  or  convenient 

*  to  us  i  but,  if  Sayyad  Alwi  or  his  fens  were  to  be 

*  ftrangers  in  our  country,  you  would  have  no  rea- 
*'fon  to  boaft  of  fuperior  hofpitality,'  He  then 
Ihowed  me,  a  fccond  time,  a  part  of  an  old  j[ilk  vcft, 
with  the  ftar  of  the  Order  of  the-  Thiftk,-  and  beg- 


94  HEMARK^  ON  THE  I9LAN0 

ged  me  to  explain  the  motto ;  exprelling  a  with 
the  order  might  be  conferred  on  him  by  the  Ki 
England^  in  return  for  his  good  offices  to  the  En 
J  reprefented  to  him  the  impoffibiliiy  of  his  I 
gratified,  and  took  occafion  to  fay,  that  there 
more  true  dignity  in  their  own  native  titles  thfl 
thofe  of  prince^  auh^  and  /or^/,*  which  had  been 
given  them,  but  had  no  conformity  to  their  mai 
or  the  conftitution  of  their  government* 

This  converfation  not  being  agreeable  to  eitherc 
I  changed  it,  by  deliring  that  the  palanquins 
bearers   might  be  ready  next   morning  as  ear 
poffible.       He  anfwered,  that  his   palanquins 
at  our  fervice  for  nothing,    but  that  we  tnufl 
him    ten    dollars    for    each    fet    of    bearers; 
it  was  the  dated  price,  and  that  Mr.  Hayings 
paid  it  when  he  went  to  vifit  the  king.     This, 
learned  afterwards,  was  falie;    but,  at  all  evf 
knew  that  he  would  keep  the  dollars  himfelf ,  a 
nothing  to  the  bearers,  who  deferved  them 
and  whom  he  would  compel  to  leave  their  c 
and  toil  for  his  profit.     Can  you  imagine, 
plied,  "  that  we  would  employ  four-and-twer 
*\  to  bear  us  fo  far  on  their  ftioulders  without 
•*  ing  them  amply  ?    But  fince  they  are  free 
he  had  aflured  me)  ^/  and  not  your  flaves,  w 
"  them  in  proportion  to  their  diligence  and  j 
•*  viour;  and  it  becomes  neither  your  digni 
*'  to  make  a  previous  bargain.'*   I  Ihowed  I 
gant  copy  of  the  Korarty  which  I  deftined  foi 
and  dcfcribed  the  reft  of  my  prefentj  br 
alked,  "  if  that  was  all  ?*'  Had  he  been  V 
of  dry  dollars  would  have  given  him  i 
than  the  fineft  or  holieft  manufcript,    Fij 
converfing  on  a  variety  of  (ubjeds,  utter 
telligence  or  principle,  I  took  my  leave,  ai 
more ;  but  promifed  to  let  him  know  foi 
iber  we  (homld  .maka  our  intended  excur 


OF  HIVZUAVr,  OR  JORAKHA.  p| 

We  dined  in  tolerable  comfort,  and  had  occafloot 
.  In  the  courfe  of  the  day,  to  obferve  the  manners  of 
the  natives  in  the  middle  rank,  who  are  called  Banasi 
ftll  of  whom  have  flaves  conflantly  at  work  for  them* 
We  vifited  the  mother  of  Camhotnadi^  who  feemed  in 
H  flation  but  little  raifed  above  indigence ;  and  her 
hufband,  who  was  a  mariner,  bartered  an  Arabic 
treattfe  on  aflronomy  and  navigation,  which  he  had 
read^  for  a  fea-compafs,  of  which  he  well  knew  the 
Aife. 

In  the  morning  I  had  converfeu  with  two  very  old 
Arabs  of  Yemeni  who  had  brought  fome  articles  of 
trade  to  Hmxuan ;  and  in  the  afternoon  I  met  another, 
who  had  come  from  Majkat  (where  at  that  time  there 
was  a  civil  war)  to  purchafe,  if  he  could,  an  hundred 
Aand  of  arms.  *  I  told  them  all  that  I  loved  their  na«» 
tion;  and  they  returned  my  compliment  with  great, 
Warmth,  efpecially  the  two  old  men,-  who  were  neay^ 
fourfcore,  and  reminded  me  of  Zohair  and  Hareih. 

So  bad  an  accoufat  had  been  given  me  of  the  road  over' 
the  mountains,  that  I  diffuaded  my  companions  frpm 
thinking  of  the  journey,  to  which  the  captain  became 
rather  difinclined ;  but  as  1  wilhed  to  be  fully  ac- 
quainted with  a  country  which  I  might  never  lee 
again,  I  wrote  the  next  day  to  Salim^  requefting  him 
to  lend  me  one  palanquin,^  and  to  order  a  fufficient 
number  of  men.  He  fent  me  no  written  anfwer,  which 
I  afcribe  rather  to  his  incapacity  than  to  rudenefs  j 
but  the  Governor,  with  Alwi^mA  two  of  his  fons,  came? 
on  board  in  the  evening,  and  faid  that  they  had  feefa 
my  letter ;  that  all  fhould  be  ready ;  but  that  I  could 
not  pay  lefs  for  the  men  than  ten  dollars.  1  faid  I 
would  pay  more,  but  it  (hould  be  to  the  men  them* 
felves,  according  to  their  behaviour.  They  return-^ 
od  fomewhat  diiTatisfied,  after  I  bad  played  at  chiefs 


96  .REMARKS  ON  THE    ISLAND 

with  JlhvPs  younger  fon,  in  whofe  manner  and  ad<^ 
drefs  there  was  fomething  remarkably  pleafing. 

Before  fun-ri{e,  on  the  2d  of  jiuguft^  I  went  alone 

on '  (hore,  with  a  fmall  ba/ket  of  fuch  provifions  as  I 

might  want  in  the  coiirfe  of  the  day,  and  with  fome 

cufliions  to  make  the  prince's  palanquin  at  leafl  a  toIer«> 

able  vehicle ;  but  the  prince  was  refolved  to  receive 

the  dollars  to  which  his  men  were  entitled ;  and  he 

knew   that,  as  I  was  eager  for  the  journey,  he  could 

prefcribe  his  own  terms.     Old  Al'voi  met  me  on  the 

beach,  and  hrougat  excufes  from  8al'nn^  who  he  (aid 

was  indifpofed.     He  conducted  me  to  his  houfe,  and 

feemed  rather  deCrous  of  perfuading  me  to  abandon 

my  defign  of  vifiting  the  king ;    but  I  aflured  him 

that,  if  the  prince  would  not  fupply  me  with  proper 

attendants,  1  would  walk  to  Domoni  with  my  own  fer- 

vants  and   a    guide.      Shaikh  Salimj    he  faid,  was 

miferably  avaricious,  and  that  he  was  afliamed  of  a 

kinfman  with  fuch  a  difpofition;  but  that  he  was 

Bo  lefs  obftinate  than  covetous;  and  that,  without 

ten  dollars  paid  in  hand,  it  would  be  impoflSble  to 

procure  bearers.      I  then  gave  him  three  guineas, 

which  he  carried,  or  pretended  to  carry  to  Saliiu ;  but 

returned  without  the  change,  alleging  that  he  h%d  no 

filver,  and  promifing  to  give  me  on  my  return  the 

few  dollars  that  remained.    In  about  an  hour  the  ridi* 

culous  vehicle  was  brought  by  nine  fturdy  blacks,  who 

could  not  Ipeak  a  word  of  Arabicy  fb  that  I  exp6£i:ed 

po    information    concerning    the    country   through 

which  I  was  to  travel;  but  Alwi  affifted  me  in  a  point 

of  the  utmoft  confequence.     *  You  cannot  go,*  faid 

Re,  ^  without  an  interpreter,  for  the  king  fpeaks  only 

*  the  language  of  this  ifland ;  but  I  have  a  fervant, 
<  whofe  name  is  Tumuniy  a  fenfible  and  worthy  man, 
^  who  underftands  Englijhy   and  is  much  efteemed 

*  by  the  king;    he  is  known  and  valued  all  QVdr 


DP  HIKZUAK9  OR  JOHANNA.  97 

^  JJmxuan.      This  man  (hall  attend  you ;   and  you 
^  will  fooa  be  fenfible  of  bis  worth/ 

Tumuni  defifted  to  carry  my  bafket ;  and  we  fet  out 
with  a  profpedt  of  fine  weaijher,  but  fome  hours  later 
than  i  had  intended*  I  walked  by  the  gardens  of 
the  two  princes,  to  the  fkirts  of  the  town,  and  came 
tQ  ^  little  village  confiding  of  feveral  very  neat  huts, 
made  ,  chiefly  with  the  leaves  of  the  cocoa-tree  j  but 
the. road  a  liale.  farther  was  fo  flony,  that  I  fat  in  the 
palanquin,  and  was  borne  with  perfed  fafety  over  fome 
rocki.  I'  then  defired  my  guide  to  aflure  the  men 
that  I  would  pay  them  liberally ;  but  the  poor  pea- 
&nts,  who  had  bdsn  brought  from  their  farms  on  the 
hills,  were  not  perfedtly  acquainted  with  the  ufe  of 
money,  and  treated  my  promife  with  indifierence. 

About  five  miles  from  Matfamuda  lies  the  town  of 
fVani,  where  Shaikh  Abdullah^  who  has  already  been 
mentioned,  ufually  refides :  I  faw  it  at  a  didance, 
and  it  Teemed  to  be  ^reeably  fituated.  When  1  had 
pafled  the  rocky  part  of  the  rood,  I  came  io  b,  ftonjr 
beach,  where  the  fea  appeared  to  have  lod  fome 
ground,  fince  there  was  a  fine  fand  to  the  kft,  and 
beyond  it  a  beautiful  bay,  which  refembled  that  of 
Weymouth f  and  feemed  equally  convenient  for  bath* 
ing ;  but  it  did  not  appear,  to  me  that  the  ftones  over 
which  I  was  carried  had  been  recently  covered  with 
water«  Here  1  faw  .the  frigate,  and,  taking  leave 
of  it  for  two  days,  turned  from  the  coad  into  a  fine 
country  very  neatly  cultivated,  and  conlifling  partly 
of  hillocks  exquifitely  green,  partly  of  plains,  which 
were  then  in  a  gaudy  drefs  of  rich  yellow  bloffoms. 
My  guide  informed  me  they  were  plantations  of  a 
kind  of  vetch,  which  was  eaten  by  the  nacives-  Cot- 
t^^:and  farms  were  interfperfed  all  over  this  gay 
champaign,  and  the.  wbole  Icene  was  delightful :  but 
jtwa9;faon  changed  for  beamies  of  a  difiercnt-kind* 

VoL.IL  H 


^8  REMARKS  ON  THE  ISLAVP 

We  defcended  into  a  cool  valley,  through  which 
ran  a  rivulet  of  perfectly  clear  water ;  and  there,  find- 
ing my  vehicle  uneafy,  though  from  the  laughter  and 
merriment  of  my  bearers  I  concluded  them  to  be 
quite  at  their  eafe,  I  bade  them  fet  me  down^  and 
walked  before  them  all  the  reft  of  the  way.     Moun- 
tains, clothed  with  fine  trees  and  flowcring-ihrubty 
prelented  themfelves  on  our  afcent  from  the  vale;  ud 
Vfe  proceeded  for  half  an  hour  through  pleaiant  wood- 
walks,   where  1   regretted  the  impoffibility  of  loi- 
tering a  while  to  examine  the  variety  of  new  bloflbms, 
which  fucceeded  one  another  at  every  ftep,  and  the 
virtues,  as  well  as  names,  of  which  ieemed  familiar 
to  Tumt0ii     At  length  we  defcended  into  a  valley 
of  greater  extent  than  the  former :  a  river  or  large 
wintery  torrent  ran  through  it,  and  fell  down  a .  ftom 
declivity  at  the  end  of  it,  where  it  feemed  to  be  loix 
among  rocks.    Cattle  were  grazing  on  the  banks  of 
the  river,  and  the  huts  of  their  owners  appeared  on 
the  hills:   a  more  agreeable  fpot  I  had  not   before 
f  en  even  in  Swi/ferland  ox  Merioneth/hire  \  but  it  was 
followed  by  an  aflcmblage  of  natural  beauties,  which  I 
hardly  cxpedted  to  find  in  a  little  illand  twelve  de- 
grees to  the  Ibuth  of  the  Line,     1  was  not  fufficiently 
pkafcd  with  my  folitary  journey  to  difcover  charms 
which  had  no  adual  exiftence,  and  the  firft  effe£L  of 
the   contraft    between   St.  Jago    and   Hinzuan  had 
ceafed;    but,    without  any   difpofition  to  give  the 
landfcape  a  high  colouring,  I  nay  truly  fay,  what  I 
thought  at  the  time,  that  the  whole  country  which 
next  prefented  itfelf,  as  far  furpafled  Ermmon^illej  or 
Blenheim^  or  any  other  imitations  of  nature,  which  I 
had  feen  in  France  or  England^  as  the  finefl  bay  fiv- 
pafles  an  anificial  piece  of  water.     Two  very  high 
mountains,  covered  to  the  fummit  with  the  richeft 
verdure,  were  at  fome  diftance  on  my  right  hand, 
and  feparated  from  me  by  meadows  divcrmied  with 
cottages  and  herds,  or  by  vallies  refounding  witb  tor« 


OF  HtKZtJAN^  OR  JOHAKKA*  M 

rents  and  waterfalls ;  on  my  left  was  the  fea^  to  which 
there  were  beautiful  openings  from  the  hiUsfind  woQds; 
and  the  road  was  a  fmooth  path  naturally  winding 
through  a  forefl  of  fpicy  (hrubs,  fruit-trees,  and  palms* 
Rome  high  trees  were  fpangled  with  white  blcdToms, 
tquol  in  fragrance  to  orange-flowers :  my  guide  cal-* 
led  them  Monongos ;  but  the  day  was  declining  fo  fad, 
diat  it  was  impoiiible  to  examine  them:  the  variet^ 
of  fruits,  flowers,  and  birds,  of  which  I  had  a  tran* 
fient  view  in  this  magnificent  garden,  would  have 
Supplied  a  naturalift  with  amuiment  for  a  month; 
but  I  faw  no  remarkable  infed,  and  no  reptile  of  any 
kind.  The  woodland  was  diverfified  by  a  few  plea- 
fant  glades,  and  new  profpedts  were  continually 
opened  :  at  length  a  noble  view  of  the  fea  burft  upon 
me  unexpededly ;  and,  having  pafled  a  hill  or  two^ 
we  Came  to  the  beach,  beyond  which  wer^  ieveral 
liiUs  and  cottages.  We  turned  from  the  (hore  ;  and^ 
on  the  next  eminence,  I  faw  the  town  of  Domatti  at  a 
little  diflance  below  us.  I  was  met  by  a  number  of 
Datives,  a  few  of  whom  fpoke  Arabic ;  and  thinking 
it  a  convenient  place  for  repofe,  I  fent  my  guide  to 
apprize  the  king  of  my  intended  vifit.  He  returned 
an  half  an  hour  with  a  polite  meflage;  and  I  walked 
idto  the  town,  which  (eemed  large  and  populous.  A 
^great  crowd  accompanied  me ;  and  I  was  conduced 
ito  a  houfe  built  on  the  fame  plan  with  the  beft  boulei 
-M  Matfamudo.  In  the  middle  of  the  court^yard 
flood  a  large  Monongo-tree^  which  perfumed  the  air; 
the  apartment  on  the  left  was  empty ;  and  in  that  on 
the  right  iat  the  king  on  a  ibfaor  bench,  covertd  with 
^an  ordinary  carpet.  He  rofe  when  I  enttredf  and 
.^fafping  my  hands,  placed  me  near  him  on  the  right  i 
.but  as  he  could  fpeak  only  the  language  of  Hmswanf 
I  had  recourfe  to  my  friend  Tumum^  than  whom  a  rea* 
diet  or  more  accurate  interpreter  could  not  have 
been  found,  I  prefented  the  king  with  a  very  hand* 
Ibait  Mian  drcis  of  blue  filk  wsih  goldea  floweri| 

Ha 


tpO  REMARKS  ON  THE  ISLAND 

which  bad  been  worn  only  once  at  a  mafquerade,  and-  ^ 
with  a  beautiful  copy  of  the  Koritn:,  from  which  t 
read  a  few  verfes  to  him.  He  took  them  with  great 
complacency,  and  faid,  he  wi(hed  I  had  come  by 
fea^  that  he  might  have  loaded  one  of  my  boats 
with  firuit,  and  with  fome  of  his  finefl  cattle.  He 
had.  (een  tne,  he  faid,  on  board  the  frigate,  where 
he  had  been,  according  to  his  cudom,  in  difguifcy 
and  had  heard  of  me  from  his  fon  Shaikh  Ham-t 
duliah.  I  gave  him  an  account  of  my  journey,  and . 
extolled  the  beai^ties  of  his  country :  he  put  many 
queflions  concerning  rr.ine,  and  profefled  great  regard 
for  our  nation.  '*  But  I  hear/'  faid  he,  "  that  you  are 
*•  a  magiftrate,  and  confequently  profefs  peace :  why 
'^  are  you.  armed  with  a  broad  fword  V*  *  I  was  a 
f  man^'  1  faid,  ^  before  I  was  a  magiftrate ;  and,  if  it 
^  fhould  ever  happen  that  law  could  not  proted: 
?  me,  I  muft  protedt  my(elf.'  He  feemed  about 
iixty  years  old,  had  a  very  cheerful  countenance^  and 
gt^t  appearamte  of  good-nature  mixed  with  a  certain 
.dighitj',  which  diftinguifiied  him  from  the  crowd  of 
miffifters  and  officers  who  attended  him.  Our  con- 
verlation  was  interrupted  by  notice,  that  it  was  thfc 
time  of  evening-prayers ;  and,  when  he  rofe,  he  (aid 
/*  this  houfe  is  yours,  and  I  will  vifit  you  in  it,  after 
^*you  have  taken  fome  refrefhment."  Soon  aftep, 
his  fer  vants  brought  a  roaft  fowl,  a  rice-pudding,  and 
fonie  other  didjes,  wirh  papayas  and  very  good  pome- 
granates; my  own  ba/foet  fiipplied  the  reft  o(  tWf 
fupper.  The  room  was  hung  with  old  red  cloth,  aiid 
decorated  wiih  pieces  of  porcelain  and  feftoona.  )o£ 
•jB>7g-/j)A":bottle^ ;  the  lamps  were  placed  oathe  ground 
•'hi  large. fca* (hells;  and.  the  bed*place  was  a  recets, 
.concealed'  by  a  chintz  hanging,  oppofite  to  the  fbfiiy 
on  which  we.  had  been  licting.  Though  it  was'  nbt^ 
place  that  invited  repofe,  and  the  gnats  wese  inez- 
-preflibly  troubleibme,  yet  the  fatigue  of. the/dayt  pro* 
cured  me  Veiy  comtonable  fluml^.     I  mA  widral 


or  HIKZUAK9  Olt  JOBAKITA.  lot 

by  the  return  of  the  king  and  his  train ;  fome  of  whom 
Were  Arabs j  for  I  heard  one  of  them  fay  huwa-raUd^ 
otj  he  isjleefing.  There  was  immediate  filence,  and  I 
pafled  iLe  night  with  little  difturbance,  except  from 
the  unwelcome  fongs  of  the  mofquito^.  In  the 
morning  all  was  eaually  filent  and  folitary ;  the  hoiife 
appeared  to  be  delerted ;  and  I  began  to  bonder  what 
had  become  of  Tunmni:  he  came  at  length  with  con* 
cem  on  his  countenance,  and  told  me  that  the  bearers 
had  run  away  in  the  night;  but  that  the  king,  who 
wifhed  to  fee  me  in  another  of  his  houfes,  would 
furoly  me  with  bearers^  if  he  could  not  prevail  on  me 
CO  ftay  till  a  boat  could  be  fent  for.  I  went  imme-^ 
diacely  to  the  king,  whom  I  found  fitting  on  a  raifed 
(bfii  in  a  large  room,  the  walls  6f  which  were  adorned 
with  (entences  from  the  Koran^  in  Tery  legible  cha- 
raAers :  about  fifty  of  his  fubjeds  were  feated  on  the 
ground  in  a  femicircle  before  him ;  and  my  inter* 
preter  to  his  place  in  the  midfl:  of  them.  The  good 
old  king  laughed  heartily,  when  he  heard  the  adven* 
mre  of  the  night,  and  faid,  "  you  will  Aow  be  my 
^*  gueft  for  a  week,  I  hope ;  but,  ferioufly,  if  yoti 
V  muft  return  foon,  I  will  fend  into  the  country  for 
••  (bme  peafants  to  carry  you.*'  He  then  apologized 
for  the  behaviour  of  Snaikh  Salinij  which  he  had 
heArd  from  Tummii,  who  told  me  afterwards  that  he 
was  much  difpleafed  with  it^  and  would  not  fail  to 
ezprefs  his  difpleafure.  He  concluded  with  a  long 
harangue  on  the  advantage  which  the  EngUJh  mighc 
derive  from  fending  a  (hip  every  year  from  Bombay  to 
trade  with  his  fubjeAs,  and  on  the  wonderful  cheap* 
nefs  of  their  commodities,  efpecially  of  their  cowries* 
Ridiculous  as  this  idea  might  (eem,  it  (howed  an  en- 
largement of  mind,  a  defire  of  promoting  the  intereffc 
of  his  people,  and  a  fcnfe  of  the  benefits  arifinj 
fifom  trade,  which. could  hardly  have  been  expeftct 
fh»n  a  petty  African  chief;  and  whicb^  if  he  had 

K3 


tot  IttiMAltRS  OH  tHE  iSLAKi> 

been  fovereigti  of  Yemeri^  tnighi  haVe  been  expatlded 
into  rational  projeds  proportioned  •  to  the  extent  of 
his  dominions.  1  anfwered,  tbkt  I  was  imperfedtly 
acquainted  with  the  commerce  of  India  -,  but  that  I 
^ould  report  the  fubftance  of  his  converfation^  and 
would  ever  bear  teftimony  of  his  noble  zeal  for 
the  good  of  his  country,  and  to  the  mildnefs  with 
which  he  governed  it.  As  I  had  no  inclination  to 
pafsafecond  night  in  the  ifland,  1  requefted  leave 
to  return  without  waiting  for  bearers :  he  feemed  viery 
fincere  in  prefling  me  to  lengthen  my  vifit^  but 
had  too  m\jch  Arabian  politenefs  to  be  impor- 
tunate.  We  therefore  parted ;  and  at  the  requeft 
of  Tumi^j  who  aiTured  me  that  little  time  would 
be  loft  in  fhowing  attention  to  one  of  the  wor- 
ihieft  men  in-Hinztiany  I  jmade  a  vifit  to  the  iGo^ 
vernor  of  the  town,  whofe  name  was  Mufekka:  his 
manners  were  very  pleafing,  and  he  (bowed  me 
feme  letters  from  the  officers  of  the  Brilliimi^ 
which  appeared  to  flow  Warm  from  the  heart,  and 
contained  the  flrongeft  eloge  of  his  courtefy  and 
liberality.  He  infiiled  on  filling  my  baiket  with 
fome  of  the  fineft  pomegranates  I  had  eVer  feen  ; 
and  1  left  the  town,  imprelTed  with  a  very  favourable 
opinion  of  the  king  and  his  governor..  When  I 
reafcended  the  hill,  attended  by  many  of  the  na- 
tives, one  of  them  told  me  in  Arabic^  that  I .  was 
going  to  receive  the  higheft  mark  of  diftiniftion 
rfiat  it  was  in  the  king's  power  to  (how  me; 
and  he  had  fcarce  ended,  when  I  heard  the  report 
of  a  fingle  gun :  $haikh  Ahmed  had  '(aluted  me 
with  the  whole  of  his  ordnance.  1  waved  my  hat, 
and  faid  Allah  Acher:  the  people  (houted,  and  I 
continued  my  journey,  not  without  fear  of  inconve* 
nience  from  exceffive  beat,  and  the  fatigue  of  climb- 
ing rocks.  The  walk,  however,  was  not  on  the 
whole  unpleafant :  I  fometimes  refled  in  the  vallmir 
and  forded  all  the  rivulets^  which  refrelhed  me  with 


OF    HiNZUAKf  OR  JOHAMKA,.'  lQi$^ 

dieir  coolnefs^  and  fupplied  me  with  exquifite  water  to 
mix  with  the  juice  of  my  potnegranates,  and  occafion^ 
ally  with  brandy.    We.  were  overtaken  by  fooie  pea- 
&nts»  who  came  from  the  hills  by  a  nearer  way,  and 
brought  the  king's  prefent  of  a  cow  with  her  calf,  and 
a  (he-gpat  with  two  kids :  they  had  apparently  been 
feleded  for  their  beauty,  and  were  brought  fafe  to 
Bengah     The  profpefts,  which  had  fo  greatly  de- 
lighted me  the  preceding  day,  had  not  loft  their 
charms»  though  they  wanted  the  recommendation  of 
novelty ;  but.  I  muft  confefs,  that  the  mod  delightful 
objeft  in  that  day's  walk,  of  near  ten  miles,  was  the 
Black  Erigate»  which  I  difcerned  at  funfec  from  a 
rock  near  the  princess  gardens.     Clofe  to  the  town  I 
was  CQ^.by  a  native,  who,  perceiving  me  to  be  weary, 
openeij  n  very  fine  cocoa-nut,  which  afK)rded  a  delici- 
ous draught :  he  informed  me,  that  one  of  his  coun* 
tiymen  had  beeA  punilhed  that  afternoon  for  a  theft 
on  biCMUxl  the  Crocodile  ^  and  added,  that,  in  his  opi- 
nion^ the  punifliment  was  no  lefs  juft  than  the  offence 
was  difgraceful  to  his  country.    The  offeigider,  as  I 
afterward!  learned,  was  a  youth  of  good  fiimily,  who 
had  married  a  daughtei  of  old  JUwi^  but,  being  left 
alone  ibr  a  moment  in  the  cabin,  and  feeing  a  pair  of 
blue  Morocco  flippers,  could  not  refift  the  tempta^ 
QQD,  concealed  them  fo  ill  under  his  gown,  that  he 
was  decefted  with  the  mainer.    This  proves,  that  no 
principle  of  honour  is  inftilled  by  education  into 
the  gentry  of  this  ifland  :  even  Alm^  when  he  had 
obierved  that,  ^  in  the  month  of  Ramadan^  it  was 
**  not  lawful  to  paint  with  Jtmna^  or  to  tell  ties  ;*'  and 
when  I  a&ed,  whether  both  were  lawful  all  thi  reft  of 
•  the  year,  anfwered,  that  *'  lies  were  innocent,  if  no 
'^^  man  was  injured  by  them."     'tumumtoo}^  his  leave, 
as  well  iatisfied  as  myfelf  with  our  excurfion.    I  told 
him,  before  his  maficer,  that  I  transferred  alfo  to  him 
the  dollars,  which  were  due  to  me  out  of  the  three 
guineas  i  andthata  if  ever  they  Ihould  part,  1  would 

xi  4 


IC4  RBMARKS  OK  THE  ISLARD 

be  very  glad  to  receive  him  into  my  fervice  lA  in^« 
Mr.  Roberts^  the  mailer  of  the  (hip,  had  pafled  the 
day  with  Sayyad  Ahmedy  and  had  learned  from  him 
a  few  curious  circumftances  concerning  the  govcm^ 
ment  of  Hinzuan ;  which  he  found  to  be  a  monarchy 
limited  by  ariftocracy.     The  king,  he  was  told,  had 
no  power  of  making  war  by  his  own  aifthority  ;  but, 
if  the  ailembly  of  nobles,  who  were  from  time  to 
time  convened  by  him,  refolved  on  a  war  with  any  pf 
the  neighbouring  iilands,  they  defrayed  the  chaises 
of  it  by  voluntary  contributions ;  in  return  for  which 
they  claimed  as  their  own  all  the  booty  and  captives 
that  might  be  taken.    The  hope  of  gain  or  the  waht 
of  (laves  is  ufually  the  real  motives  for  fuch  enter- 
prizes,  and  oflenfible  preteltts  are  eaiily  found.  At  that 
very  time  he  underftood  they  meditated  a  war,  be^ 
caufe  they  wanted  hands  for  the  foUox^ng  harvcft^ 
Their  fleet  cOnfiftcd  of  fixteen  or  feventeen  fmaU' Vcf- 
fels,  which  they  manned  with  about  two  tboufahd'iwt 
hundred  illanders^  armed  with  mufkets  and  cjatlafles^ 
or  with  bows  and  arrows.     Near  two  years  had'elapfed 
before  they  had  poflefled  themfelves  of -two  towns 
in  Mayatay  which  they  flill  kept  and  garrifbncdi "  ■  The 
ordinary  expences  of  the  gm'ernment  were  "defrayed 
by  a  tax  from  two  hundred  villages ;  bXiC-t^e  thij^ 
principal  towns  were  exempt  from  all  -{axe^^'excqx 
that  they  paid  annually  to  the  chief  Mttffi  a  fiiotieth 
part  of  the  value  of  all  their  moveable  property ;  and 
from  that  payment  neither  the  king  nor  the*  noUes 
claimed  an  exemption*     The  kingly  authority,  by  the 
principles  of  their  conftitution,  was  conlidercd  cleftivc, 
though  the  line  of  fucceffion  had  not  been  altered  fince 
thefirft  cle<f^io'n  of  a  fultan.     He  was  informed  that  a 
wandering  jirah^    X^ho    had   fettled    in  the  ifland, 
had,  by  his  intrepidity  in  feveral  wars,  acquired  the 
rank  ot  a  chieftain,  and  afterwards  of  a  king  with 
limited   powers ;   and   that  he  was  the  grandfather 
of  Shaikh  Aimed.    1  had  been  ailured  that  Queea 


CP   ttlNZUAK,   OR   jOHAltllA*  lOg 

ffiUmsk'  was   his  grandmother i   and,  that  he  was 
th^jf^fft  king;  but  it  muft  be  remarked,  that  the 
woitds  pdd  ^od  jeddah  in  ^Arabic  are  ufed  for  a  male 
and  female  an€eJior  indefinitely :  and  without  a  cor^ 
re£)^  pedigree  of  AhmeS%  family,  which  I  expeded 
toiprocura,  but  was  difappointed,  it  would  fcarce  be 
poflible  to  afcertain  the  time  when  his  forefather  ob« 
uuned  the  higheft  rank  in  the  government.     In  the 
ydkr  i  ooo,  Captain  John  Davis^  who  has  written  an  ac- 
count of  his  voyage,  found  Mqyata  governed  by  ^ 
king,  and  jinfiiame^  or  Hinzuany  by  a  queen,   who 
fbowed  him  great  marks  of  friendChip.     He  anchored 
befote  the  town  of  Demos  (docs  he  mean  Domom  ?) 
which  was  as  large,  he  fays,  as  Plymouth ;  and  he 
concludes,  from  the  ruins  around  it,  that  it  had  once 
been  a  place  of  flrength  and  grandeur.     I  can  only 
fry,  that  I  obferved  no  fuch  ruins.  Fifteen  years  after. 
Captain  Peyton  and  >Siy  Thomas  Roe  touched  at  the 
Coffiara  idands ;   and,  from  their  feveral  accounts,  it 
appears  that  an  old  fultanefs  at  that  time  reiided  in 
Binzuan,  but  had  a  dominion  paramount  over  all  the 
ifles,  three  of  her  fons  governing  MohiJa  in  her  name* 
If  this  be  true,  Sohaili  and  the  fucceflbrs  of  Halimah 
muft  have  lofl  their  influence  over  the  other  iflands  ; 
and,    by  renewing  their  dormant  claim  as  it  fuitaf 
their  convenience,  they  may  always  be  furilifhed  with 
a-ptetence  for  hoflilities*     Five  generations  of  eldeft 
-Tons  would  account  for  an  hundred  and  feventy  of 
the  years  which  have  elapfed  fince  Davis  zxA  Pey^ 
ten  found  Hinzuan  ruled  by  a  fultanefs;  and  Ahmed 
was  of  fuch  an  age,  that  his  reign  may  be  reckoned 
<^ual  to  a  generation.     It  is  probable,  on  the  whole, 
that  Halimah  was  the  widow  of  the  firfl  Arabian 
king,  and  that  her  mofque  has  been  continued  in 
repair  by  his  defendants ;  fo  that  we  may  reafonably 
fuppofe  two  centuries  to  have  pafTed  fince  a  fingle 
Arab  had  the  courage  and  addrcfs  to  eftablifh  in 
chat  beautiful  ifland  a  form  of  government,  which. 


Io6  REMARKS    OW    THE    ISLAND 

though  bad  enough  in  itfelf,  appears  to  have  been  ad«r 
miniflered  with  advantage  to  the  original  inhabirants# 
We  have  lately  heard  of  civil  commotions  in  Hm* 
xuariy  which,  we  may  venture  to  pronounce,  were  noc 
excited  by  any  cruelty  or  violence  of  Ahmed^  IhiC 
were  probably  occ^fioncd  by  the  infolence  of  an  oli* 
garchy  naturally  hoftile  to  king  and  people.     That 
the  mountains   in   the  Comara  iilands  contain  difu* 
monds,  and  the  precious  metals,  which  are  ftudioufly 
concealed  by  the  policy  of  the  feveral  governments^ 
may  be  true,  though  I  have  no  reafon  to  believe  it» 
and  ha,ve  only. heard  it  afferted  without  evidence; 
but  I  hope  that  neither  an  expedlation  of  fuch  trea*. 
fures,  nor  of  any  other  advantage,  will  ever  induce 
an  European  power  to  violate  the  firfl:  principles  of 
Juilice   by   afluming   the  fovereignty    of  Hinzamts 
which  cannot  anfwer  a  better  pqrpofe  than  that  df 
fupplying  our  fleets   with    {eafonable    refre(hment } 
and,  although  the  natives  have  an  interefl  in  receivir^ 
us  with  apparent  cordiality,   yet,  if  we   wilh  their 
attachment  to  be  unfeigned  and  their  dealings  juft^ 
we  muft  fet  them  an  example  of  ftridt  honefty  in  tbe 
performance  of  our  engagements.  In  truth,  our  nation 
IS  not  cordially  loved  by  the  inhabitants  of  Hinzuan, 
who,    as    it    commonly    happens,    form  a    genend 
opinion  from  a  few  inftances  of  violence  or  breiach 
of  faith. — Not  many  years  ago,   an  Eutopeatty  who 
had  been  hofpirably  received  and  liberally  fupported. 
at  Matfamudoy  behaved  rudely  to  a  young  married 
woman,  who,   being  of  low    degree,   was  .walking 
veiled  through  a  ftreet  in  the  evening.     Her  hufband 
ran  to  protect  her,  and  refented  the  rudenefs,  pror- 
bably  with  menaces,  poflibly  with  aftual   force ;  and 
the  European  is  faid  to  have    given  him   a  mortal 
ivound  with  a  knife  or  bayonet,  which  he  brought, 
after  the  Icuffle,  from  his  lodging.     This  foul  mur»- 
der,  which  the  law  of  nature  would  have  juftifie<J 
the  magiftratc  in  puniftiing  with  death,  was  reported 


i>r  RiKZVAK^  OR  jonhv^jfL.  107 

tothektngy  who  told  the  ^vernor  (and  I  ufe  the 
tcry  wofds  of  jilwi)  that  "  it  would  be  wifer  to  hufli 
k  Vkp^-'^jihvi  mentioned  a  cifil  cafe  of  his  own, 
which  ought  not  to  be  concealed.    When  he  was  on 
the  cooft  of  Africa^  in  the  dominions  of  a  very  favagp 
prince,  a  fmall  European  veflel  was  wrecked;    and 
the  prince  not  only  feized  all  that  could  be  faved  from 
the  wreck,  but  claimed  the  captain  and  the  crew  as 
his  flaTCSt  and  treated  them  with  ferocious  infolence. 
Ahm  aflured  me,  that,  when  he  heard  of  the  acct«- 
dent^  he  haftened  to  the  prince,  fell  proftrate  befoie 
him,  and  by  tears  and  importunity  prevailed  on  him 
10  give  the  Europeans  their  liberty;  that  he  fupported 
them  at  his  own  ex  pence,  enabled  them  to  build  ano« 
ther  veflel^  in  which  they  failed  to  Hinzuan,  and  de«- 
parted  thence  for  Europe  or  Truiia.    He  (howed  me 
the  Captain's  promiflbry  notes  for  fums,  which  to  an 
African  trader  muft  be  a  coniiderable  objedt,   but 
wiiich  arc  no  price  for  liberty,  fafety,  and,  perhaps, 
life,  which  his  good  though  difinterefted  offices  had 
procured,     1  lan^ented  that,  in  my  fituation,  it  was 
wholly  out  of  my  power  to  affift  Alwi  in  obtaining 
juftice ;  but  he  urged  me  to  deliver  an  Arabic  letter 
from  him,  indofing  the  notes,  to  the  Governor  Ge- 
neral, who,  as  he  faid,  knew  him  well :  and  I  com- 
plied with  his  requeft.     Since  it  is  poffible  that  a 
fubftantial  defence  may  be  made  by  the  perfon  thus 
accufed  of  injuftice,  I  will  not  name  either  him  or 
the  veflel  which  he  had  commanded ;  but,  if  he  be 
living,  and  if  this  paper  (hould  fall  into  his  hands, 
he  may  be  induced  to  refleA  how  highly  it  imports 
our  national  honour,  that  a  people  whom  we  call 
favige,  but  who  adminifter  to  our  convenience,  may 
have  no  juft  caufe  to  reproach  us  with  a  violation  of 
pur  contrads. 


• 


•  •        -. 


i  « 


•  • 


*.t  " 


I 


VI. 


ON  THE  BAY  A,  OR  INDIAN  GROSS-BEAK. 


BY  AT'HAR  ATI  KHAN  OF  DEHLI. 


THE  little  bird,  called  Baya  in  Hindis  Berhera  in 
Sanfcrity  Babut  in  the  dialeft  of  Bengal^  Cibu  in 
Perfian^  and  Tenawwit  in  Arabic,  from  his  remark- 
ably pendent  neft,  is  rather  larger  than  a  fparrovv, 
with  yellow-brown  plumage,  a  yellowifli  head  and 
feet,  a  light  coloured  breaft,  and  a  conic  beak,  very 
thick  in  proportion  to  his  body.  The  bird  is  exceed- 
ingly common:  in  Htndufian :  he  is  aftonifliingly  (ehfi- 
ble,  faithtul,  and  docile,  never  voluntarily  deferting  the 

J>lace.where  Jiis  young  were  hatched,  nowife  averfe, 
ike*  moit-  other  birds,  to  the  fociety  of  mankind, 
and  eafily  taught  to  perch  on  the  hand  of  his  maftcr. 
In  a  ftate  of  nature  he'  generally  builds  his  neft  on  the 
Jbigheft  tree  that  he  can  find,  elpecially  on  the  Pal- 
piyra,  or  on  the  fndian  fig-tree ;  and  he  prefers  that 
which  happens  to  overhang  a  well  or  a  nvulet :    he 
mabss  it  of  grafs,  which  he  weaves  like  cloth,  and 
&apei  like  a  large  bottle,  fufpending  it  fimily  on  the 
bfaiiches,  but  fo  as  to  rock  with  the  wind ;  and  plac- 
ing it  with  its  entrance  downwards,  to  ftcure  it  from 
birds  of  preJ^     Hi«  neft  ufually  conjGfl:s  of  two  or 
three  chambers;  and  it  is  the  popular  belief  that  he 
lights  them  with  fire-flies,  which  he  catches  alive  at 
night  and  confi:nes  with  moift  clay,  or  with  cow- 
4ung«     That  fuch  flies  are  often  found  in  his  neft, 
where  pieces  of  cow-dung  are  alfo  ftruck,  is  indubit- 
able ;  but,  as  their  light  could  be  of  little  ufe  to  him, 
it  (eems  probable  that  he  only  feeds  on  them.     He 
may  be  taught  with  cafe  to  fetch  a  piece  of  paper. 


[     no    ] 

or  iny  fmall  thing  that  his  mafter  points  out  to  bira*^ 
It  is  an  atteftecl  fad,  that,  if  a  ring  be  dropped  into 
a  deep  well,  and  a  fignal  given  to  him,  he  will  fly 
down  with  amazing  celerity,  catch  the  ring  before  it 
touches  the  water,  and  bring  it  up  to  his  mafter  with 
apparent   exultation ;  and  it  is  confidently  afferted, 
that,  if  a  houfe  or  any  other  place  be  fhown  to  hint 
once  or  twice,  he  will  carry  a  note  thither  immediately, 
on  a  proper  fignal  being  made.     Ohe  inltance  of  his 
docility  I  can  myfelf  mention  with  confidence,  having 
often  been  an  eye-witnefs  of  it :  The  young  Hindu* 
women  at  Banares  and  in  other  places,  wear  very  thin 
plates  of  gold,  called  ticas^  ilightly  fixed,  by  way  of 
ornament,  between  their  eye-brows ;  and,  when  they 
pafs  through  the  ftreets,  it  is  not  uncommon  for  the 
youthful  libertines^  .who  amufe  themfelves  with  train- 
jng  BayaSj  to  give  them  a  (ign,  which  they  under* 
iland,  and  fend  them  to  pluck  the  pieces  of  gold 
from  the  foreheads  of  their  miftrefTes,  which  thej 
bring  in  triumph  to  the  lovers.-— The  Baya  feeds 
naturally  on  grafshoppers  and  other  infers,  but  wiM 
fubfi{l»  when   tame,   on  pulfe  macerated  in  water* 
His  flcQi  is  warm  and  drying,  of  eafy  digeftion,  and 
recommended,   in  medical  books,   as  a   folveot  of 
Hone  in  the  bladder  or  kidneys ;  but  of  that  vmue 
there  is  no  fufiicient  proof.    The  female  lays  many 
beautiful  eggs,  refembling  large  pearls  :  the  white  of 
them,  when  they  are  boiled,  is  tranfparent^  and  the 
flavour  of  them  is  exquifitely  delicate.     When  many 
Bayas  are  aflembled  on  a  high  tree»  they  make  % 
lively  din,  but  it  is  rather  chirping  than  iingingi 
their  want  of   mufical  talents  is,    however,   amply 
fuppled  by  their  wonderful  fagacity,  in  which  they 
are  not  excelled  by  any  featlicred  inhabitants  of  tbt 
iofeft* 


-  *  • 
« 


Vll. 


ON  THE  CHRONOLOGY  OF  THE  HINDUS. 

WRITTEN  IN  JANUARY,  I788, 

BY   THE    PRESIDENT. 


THE  great  antiquity  of  thq  Hindus  is  believed  fo 
firmly  by  themlelves,  and  has  been  the  fubjedt  of 
fo  much  converiatioh  among  Europeans^  that  a  (hort 
view  of  their  Chronological  Syftem,  which  has  not  yet 
been  exhibited  from  certain  authorities,  may  be  accept- 
able to  tbofe  who  feek  truth  without  partiality  to  re« 
ceived  opinions,  and  without  regarding  any  confequen* 
ces  that  may  refult  from  their  mquiries.     The  confc- 
quences,  indeed,  of  truth  cannot  but  be  de(ireable» 
and  no  reafonable  man  will  apprehend  any  danger 
to  focieiy  from  a  general  diffufion  of  its  light ;  but 
we  muft  not  fufFer  ourfelves  to  be  dazzled  by  a  falfe 
glare,  nor  miftake  enigmas  and  allegories  for  hiftori- 
cal  verity.      Attached  to  no  fyftem,  and  as  much 
dilpofed  to  rejed  the  Mofaic  hiftory,  if  it  be  proved 
erroneous,  as  to  believe  it,  if  it  be  confirmed  by 
{bund  redbning  from  indubitable  evidence,  I  pro- 
pofe  to  lay  before  you  a  concife  account  of  Indian 
Chronolo^,  extrafted  Ifrom  Sanfcri^  books,  or  col- 
leiSEed  firom  converfation  with  Pandits^  and  to  fub- 
join  a  few  remarks  on  their  fydem,  without  attempt- 
ing to  decide  a  queftion,  which  I  ihall  venture  tQ 
ftart,  ^*  Whether  it  is  not  in  fad  the  fartie  with  our 
^<own,  but  embelliflied  and  obfcured  by  the  fency 
'''of  their  poets  and  the  riddles  of  their  aftro« 
!!!  fiomers  ?" 


112  ON  THE  CHRONOLOGY 

One  of  the  moft  curious  books  in  Sanfcrit^  and 
one  of  I  lie  oldeft  after  the  Vedasj  is  a  traft  on  r^ii- 
gious  afid  civit  duties^  taken,  as  it  is  believed,  from 
the  oral  inftruftions  of  Menu^  fon  of  Brahma^  to  jbc 
firft  inhabitants  of  the  earth.      An  exceeding  wcD- 
tollated   copy   of  this    moft  interefling  law-trad  ii 
now  before  me ;  and  I  begin  my  differtation  with  a 
few  couplets  from  the  firft  chapter  of  it :  **  The  fun 
**  caufes  the  divifion  of  day  and  night,  which  are 
•*  of   two  forts,    thofe   of  men   and    thofc  of  the 
•*  Gods;   the  day,  for  the  labour  of  ^//creatures  in 
*•  their  feveral  employments :   the  night   for   their 
**  flumber.      A  month  is  a  day  and  night  of  the 
**  patriarchs;  and  it  is  divided  into  two  parts;  the 
"  bright  half  is  their  dsLy  for  laborious  exertions;  the 
**  dark  half,  their  night  for  fleep,     A  year  is  a  day 
<^  and  night  of  the  Gods ;  and  that  is  alfo  divided 
"  into  two  halves;  the  day  is,  when  the  (un.moycs 
*^  toward  the  north ;  the  night,  when  it  moves  to- 
^'  ward  the  (ouch.      Learn  now  the  duration  of  a 
^^  night  and  day  of  Brahma  with  that  of  the  ages 
•*  re^dively»  and  in  order.     Four  thousand  yean 
*•  of  the  Gfhis  they  call  the  Crita  (or  Satya)  age; 
^'  and  its  limits  at  the  beginning  and  at  the  end  ar$^ 
**  in  like  manner,  as  many  hundreds.     In  the  three 
*^  fiKceffive  ages,  together  with  their  litoits  at  the 
^  beginning  and  end  of  them,  are  thoufands  and 
**  hundreds  diminiflied  by  one.     This  aggregate  of 
••  four  ages,  amounting  to  twelve  thoufand  divine 
<^  years,  is  called  an  age  of  the  Gods;  and  a  thou^ 
•^  (and  fuch  divine  ages  added  together,  muft  be  con? 
<'  fidered  as  a  day  of  Brahma :  his  night  has  al(b  the 
••  fame  duration.     The  before- mentioned  age  of  tb4 
•*  Gods,  or  twelve  thoufand  of  their  years,  hiuki? 
**  plied  by  fevcnty-one,  form  whaf  is  named  hew 
**  below  a  Manwantara,     There  are  alternat^.cxt^ 
*^  tions  and  dcftruftions  of  worlds  thrpugh  in.QUiper* 
*•  able  Mamvantaras:    the    Being  fupreipejy,  dcfit'* 
^  able,  performs  all  this  again  and  again.'' 


OF    THE    HIKDUS.  XIJ 

Strch  is  the  arrangement  of  infinite  time,  which 
the  Hindus  believe  to  have  beeiTrevealcS  from  Hea- 
ven,  and  which  they  generally  uoderftand  in  a  literal 
fenfe  :  it  feems  to  have  intrinfic  marks  of  being  purely 
aftrononucal ;  but  I  will  not  appropriate  the  obferva- 
tions  of  others,  nor  anticipate  thofe  in  particular, 
which  have  been  made  by  two  or  three  of  our  mem- 
bers, an4  which  they  will,  I  hope^  communicate  to  the 
Society.  A  conjedture,  however,  of  Mr.  Pater/on  has 
fo  much  ingenuity  in  it,  that  I  cannot  forbear  men- 
tioniDg  it  here,  elpccially  as  it  feems  to  be  confirmed 
hj  one  of  the  couplets  juft  cited  :  he  fuppofes,  that 
as  a  monih  of  mortals  is  a  day   and  night  of  the 

etriarchs,  from  the  analogy  of  its  bright  and  dark 
Ives,  (b,  by  the  fame  analogy,  a  day  and  a  night  of 
mortals  might  have  been  coniidered  by  the  ancient 
JBndus  a$  a  tnonth  of  the  lower  world  ;  and  then  a 
year  of  fuch  months  will  confift  only  of  twelve  days 
and  nights,  and  thirty  fuch  years  will  compofe  a 
lunar  year  of  mortals ;  whence  he  furmifcs  that  the 
^nr-  million  three  hundred  and  twenty  thoufand  years, 
of  which  the  four  Indian  ages  are  fuppofed  to  confift^ 
mean  only  years  of  twelve  days ;  and,  in  faft,  that 
fum  divided  by  thiriy^  is  reduced  to  an  hundred  and 
forty 'four  thoiifand:  now  a  thoufa)id  four  hundred  and 
forty  years  are  one  pada,  a  period  in  the  Hindu  af- 
tronomy ;  and  that  fum  multiplied  by  eighteen, 
amounts  precifely  to  tweniy-five  thoufand  nine  huu^ 
dred  and  ^twenty,  the  number  of  years  in  which  the 
'^Xed  Hiars  appear  to  perform  their  long  revolution 
eaftward.  The  laft  mentioned  fum  is  the  produdt 
alfo  of  an  hundred  and  forty-four ^  which,  according  to 
M.  Bailly^  was  an  old  Indian  cycle,  into  an  hundred 
0nd  eighty 9  o\  the  T^r/^r/^w  period,  called  P^an^  and 
of  two  thotifand  eight  hundred  and  eighty  into  nttie^  which 
is  not  one  only  of  the  lunar  cycles,  but  confidered 
\pf  xht  Hindus  ^L^  a  myfterious  number,  and  an  emblem, 
pfDivini'-yi  becaufc,  if  it  be  tnultiplied  by  anv  other 
Yq*,  JI,  I 


114  0^   THE   CHROKOLOGY 

whole  number,  the  fum  of  the  figures  in  the  diffe- 
rent proiduAs  remain  always  nine,  as  the  Deity,  who 
appears  in  many  forms,  continues  One  immutable 
eflence.  The  important  period  of  twenty-jive  thou* 
fond  nine  hundred  and  twenty  years,  is  well  known  to 
arife  from  the  multiplication  of  three  hmdred  and 
fixty  into  feventy-twoj  the  number  of  years  in  which 
a  fixed  ftar  feem§  to  move  through  a  degree  c^a 
great  circle  ;  and,  although  M.  Le  Gentil  afiures  us 
that  the  modem  Hhidus  behcve  a  complete  revolution 
of  the  ftars  to  be  made  in  twenty-four  thoiifand  years^ 
orj^/)'-/owr  feconds  of  a  degree  to  be  pafled  in  one 
year,  yet  we  may  have  reafon  to  think  that  the  old 
Indian  aftronomers  had  made  a  more  accurate  calcu* 
lation,  but  concealed  their  knowledge  from  the  peo- 
ple under  the  veil  of  fourteen  MamvantaicuSy  fsnjaUf^ 
one  divine  ages,  compound  cycles,  and  years  of  qSr 
ferent  fbrits,  from  thofe  of  Brahnia  to  thofe  of  PataUp, 
or'Hie  ihfema}  regions.  If  we  follow  the  analogy 
fiiggefted  by  Meniiy  and  fuppofe  only  a  day  and 
night  to  be  called  a  year ^  we  may  divide  the  number  . 
of  years  in  a  divine  age  by  three  hundred  and  Jixtjy 
and  the  quotient  will  be  twelve  thoiifand^  or  the  nuiti* 
ber  of  his  divine  years  in  one  age :  but,  conjedtura 
apart,  we  need  only  compare  the  two  periods  4320000 
and  25920,  and  we  (hall  find,  th^t  among  their  com,- 
mon  divifors,  are  6,  9,  12,  &c.  18,  36,  72,  144^ 
&c.  ;  which  numbers  with  their  feveral  multiples^ 
efpecially  in  a  decuple  progreffion,  conftitutc  lomo 
of  the  moft  celebrated  periods  of  the  Chaldean^ 
Greehj  Tartars^  and  even  of  the  Indians^  We  can-: 
not  fail  to  obferve,  that  the  number  432,  which  ap-^ 
pears  to  be  the  bafis  of  the  Indian  fyftem,  is  a  6otl!| 
part  of  2592c,  and,  by  continuing  the  comparilbn 
we  might  probably  folve  the  whole  enigma*  In  the 
preface  to  a  Varanes  Almanac,  I  find  the  following 
wild  ftanza  :  **  A  thoufand  Great  Ages  are  a  day  of 
«  lirahna ;    a  thoufand  fuch  days  are  an  Indian  hou9 


it 


OF    THE    HINBIJS*  IXj 

^  of  Vtjhnu  ;  fix  hutidred  thoufand  fuch  hours  make 
a  period  of  Rudra ;  and  a  million  of  Rudrat 
(or  /«;^  quadrillions  five  hundred  and  mnety-iwo 
'*  thoufand  trillions  of  lunar  years)  are  but  a  fecofid 
"  to  the  Supreme  Being."  The  Hindu  theologians 
deny  the  conclnfion  of  the  ftanza  to  be  orthodox  i  ^* 
**  TimC^  th^ Jay,  **^  e:njis  not  at  all  with  God\^  and  }\ 
lEey  ailvife  aftrohomers^  to  mind  tHeir  own  bufinefs, 
without  meddling  with  theology.  The  aftronomical 
verfe,  however,  will  anfwer  our  prefent  purpo(e  ;  for 
it  (hows,  in  the  firft  place,  that  cyphers  are  added 
at  pleafure  to  fwell  the  periods  j  and,  if  we  take  ten 
cyphers  from  a  Rudra^  or  divide  by  ten  thoufand 
millions,  we  (hall  have  a  period  of  259200000  years, 
which,  divided  by  60  (the  ufual  divifor  of  time 
^mong  the  Hindus)  will  give  4320000,  or  a  Great 
Age,  which  we  find  fubdivided  in  the  proportion  of 
4,  3, '2,  I,  from  the  notion  of  virtus  decreafing 
arithmetically  in  the  golden^  filver^  copper^  and  ear^ 
lien  ages.  But,  (hould  it  be  thought  ^  improbable 
that  the  Indian  aftronomers  in  very  early  times  had 
made  more  accurate  obfervations  than  thgfe  of  Alex^^ 
fifuiria^  Bagdad^  or  Maraghah^  and  ft  ill  more  im- 
probable that  they  fliould  have  relapfed  with  appa- 
rent caufe  into  error,  we  may  fuppofe  that  they 
formed  their  divine  age  by  an  arbitrary  multiplication 
of  24000  by  1 80,  according  to  Le  Gentily  or  of  2 1 600 
by  200,  according  to  the  comment  on  the  Surya  Sidf 
dhanta.  Now,  as  Jt  is  hardly  poflible.  that  fuch 
coincidences  (hould  be  accidental,  we  may  hold  ic 
marly  demqnftrated,  that  the  period  of  a  divine  age 
w^  a(  (ipft  merely  aftronomical,  and  may  conies 
quently  reject  it  from  our  prefent  inquiry  into  the 
hiftorical  or  civil  chronology  of  India.  Let  us,  how- 
ever; proceed  \q  ?hc  avowed  opinions  of  the  Hindus^ 
and  fee,  when  we  have  afcertained  their  fyftem,  whe- 
ther we  can  reconcile  it  to  the  couife  of  nature  a^d;  tha 
4«)mqjpn  (enf?  pf  rpankin^.  .^ 


-  ■•« 


.6  ON    THE    CHRONOLOGY 

The  aggregate  of  their  four  ages  they  call  a  divino 
tge,  and  oelieve  that,  in  every  thouiand  fuch  ages, 
^r  in  every  day  of  Brahnuij  fourteen  Menas  are  fuc- 
ceffivcly  inverted  by  him  with  the  fovereignty  of  the 
earth  :    each  Menu,  they  fuppofe,  tranfmits  his  empire 
to  his  fons  and  grandfons  during  a  period  of  feventy-r 
one  divine  ages ;    and  fuch  a  period  they  name  ^ 
Mafrwantara ;     but,   fmce  fourteen    multiplied    by 
feventj'One  are  not  quite  a  thotifahd^  we  muft  conclude 
that^jp  dhine  ages  are  allowed  for  intervals  between 
the  Manwantarasy  or  for :  the  twilight  of  Brahma*^ 
day.     Thirty  fuch  days,  or  Calpas^  conftitutc,  in  their 
opinion,  a  month  of  Brahma ;   twelve  luch  months, 
one  of  his   years  ;   and  an  hundred  fuch  years,  his 
age  I   of  which  age,  they  aflert  that  fifty  years  have 
elapfed.     We  are  now  then,  according  to  the  Hindus^ 
in  the  firft  day  or  Calpa  of  the  firft   month  of  the 
fifty-firfl  year  of  Brahma^^  age,  and  m  the  twenty- 
eighth  divine  age  of  the  feventh  Manwantara ;    of 
which  divine  age  the  three  firjl  human  ages  have 
pafled,  and  four   thoufand  eight  hundred  and  eightjw 
eight  of  the  fourth. 

% 
In  the  prefent  day  of  Brahma  the  firft  Menu  was 
UTrnamed  Swayamlhuvaj  or  fon  of  the  felf^exifteni  ; 
and  it  is  he  by  whom  the  injlitutes  of  religious  and 
civil  duties  are  fuppofed  to  have  been  deHvered.     Ir 
his  time  the  Deity  defcended  at  a  facrificey  and,  b; 
his   wife  Satarufa^'ht   had  two  diftinguiflied  fonr 
and  three  daughters.     This  pair  were  created  for  tt 
multiplication  of  the  human  fpecies,  after  that  ne 
creation  of  the  world  which  the  Brahmans  call  P 
macalpya^  or  the  Lo/of-creation. 

If   it  were  worth  while  to   calculate  the  a} 
yietiu^s   inftitutes,    according   to  the  Brahma^ 
muft  multiply  four  million  three  hundred  anc' 
thoi^and   by  fix  times  feventy-one,  and  add 


OP  THE  HINDUS.  117 

produft  the  number  of  years  already  paft  in  the 
feventh'  Mamvantara.  Of  the  five  Mcmis  who  fuc- 
ceeded  him,  1  have  feen  little  more  than  the  names; 
but  xht  Hindu  writings  are  very  difFufe  on  the  life 
and  pofterity  of  xht/eventh  Merrn^  furnamed  Vaiv'^ 
ajwataj  or  Child  of  the  Sun:  he  is  fuppofed  to  have 
had  ten  fons,  of  whom  the  eldeft  was  Icjhwacui 
and  to  have  been  accompanied  by  fevcn  Rifliis^  or 
lioly  perfons,  whofe  names  were,  Cajyapa^  Atri^ 
Vafijktha^  Vtjwamihaj  Gautama^  Jamadagniy  and 
Bkaradwaja;  art  account  which  explains  the  open- 
ing of  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Gita :  "  This  iih- 
'*  mutable  fyfterri  of  devotion,*'  fays  Crijhna^  "  I' 
*«  revealed  to  Vivafwat^  or  the  Sun\  Vivajwai 
««  declared  it  to  his  fan  Menu;  Menu  explained 
**  it  to  Icjhwacu:  thus  the  chief  Rijhis  knOw 
**  this  fublimc  doSrine^  delivered  from  one  to 
•*  another.'^ 

In  the  reign  of  this  fun-horn  monafch,  the  Hindus 
believe  the  whole  earth  to  have  been  drowned,  and 
the  whole  human  race  deftroyed  by  a  flood,  except 
the  pious  prince  himfelf,  the  feven^  ttifhisy  and 
th^ir  feveral  wives  ;  for  they  fuppofe  his  children  to 
have  been  born  after  the  deluge.  This  general 
fraylayaj  or  deftrudion,  is  the  fubjedt  of  the  firft 
Furana^  ox  f acred  foem^  which  confifts  of  four- 
teen thoufand  ftanzas  ;  and  the  ftory  is  concifely, 
but  clearly  and  elegantly,  told  in  the  eighth  book  of 
the-  Bhagawafa^  from  which  I  have  abftrafted  the 
whole,  arid  tranflated  it  with  great  care ;  but  will 
only  prefent  you  here  with  an  abridgment  of  it. 
**  The  demon  Hayagriva  having  purloined  the 
"  Vedas  from  the  cuftody  of  Brahma^  while  he  was 
'*  repofing  at  the  clofe  of  the  fixth  Manwantara^ 
f*  the  whole  race  of  men  became  corrupt,  except 
•*  the  fevcn  Rifhis  and  Satyavata^  who  then  reigned 

13 


■cc 

€€ 
4€ 


liS  ON  tfi£:  CHRdKOlaCY 

••  in  Dtavira^  a  maritime  region  to  the  fou 
**  Camata:  this  prince  was  performing  his  abli 
in  the  river  Critamala  when  Vijhnu  appear 
him  in  the  (hape  of  a  fmall  fi(h,  and,  dfter 
ral  augmentations  of  bulk  in  dif&rent  w 
was  placed  by  Satyavrata  in  the  ocean,  y 
"  he  thus  addrefled  his  amazed  votary :  **  In 
•*  dkys  all  creatures,  who  have  offended  me,  (hs 
**  deftroyed  by  a  deluge,  but  thou  (halt  be  fe 
•^  in  a  capacious  veflel,  miraculoufly  formed  : 
*•  therefore  all  kinds  of  medicinal  herbs  and  efc 
**  grain  for  food,  and,  together  with  the  fevoi 
•*  men,  your  refpeAive  wives,  and  pairs  of  all 
**  mals,  enter  the  ark  without  fear  ;  then  (halt 
"  know  God  face  to  face,  and  all  thy  queftions 
**  be  anfwered/*  Saying  this,  he  difappearcd; 
after  feven  days,  the  ocean  ^  began  to  overflow 
^  coafts,  and  the  earth  to  be  flooded  by  cor 

*  (howers,     when    Satyavrata^    meditating    o' 

*  Deity,   faw  a  large  veflTel  moving  on  the  ' 

*  he  entered  it,  having  in  all  refpefts  confer 

*  the  inftruftions  of  Pljhnu ;  who,  in  the  fo 

*  vaft  fi(h,  fuffered  the  veflTel  to  be  tied  with 

*  fea-ferpenr,  as   with   a  cable,    to  his    me? 

*  horn.     When  the  deluge  had  ceafed,  Vifl> 

*  the   demon,  and  recovered  the   VedaSy  in 

*  Satyavrata    in  divine   knowledge,    and  ? 

*  him  the  feventh  Menu^  by   the  name  c 

*  wata^     Let  us  compare  the  two  Indian 
of  the  Creation  and  the  Deluge  with  tbofe 
by  MofeSi     It  is  not  made  a  queftion  in 
whether  the  firft  chapters  of  Genefis  are  to 
flood  in  a  literal,  or  merely  in  an  allegori 
the  only  points  before  us  are,  Whether  t' 
defcribed  by   the  firjl  Menuy  which   th^ 
call  that  of  the  Lotos^  be  not  the  fame  \ 
horded  in  our  Scripture  ?   and  whether 


'6t  the  hindu^*  X19 

,  •         .     .  •    • 

the  feventh  Menu  be  not  one  and  the  fame  with 
tnat  of  Noah  ?  I  propofe  the  queftions,  but  affirm 
nothing ;  leaving  others  to  fettld  their  opinions,  whe- 
ther Adatn  be  derived  from  adm^  which  in  Sarifcrit 
means  iht  Jirfi  ?  ox  Metiu  from  I>itihy  the  true  name 
of  th6  patriarch  ?  whether  ihtfacrificdj  at  which  God 
is  believed  to  have  defcerided,  alludes  to  the  offering 
oi  Ahel^  and,  oh  the  whole,  whether  the  two  Menus 
can  mean  any  other  peHpns  than  the  great  progenitor^ 
and  the  reftoter  of  our  fpecies  ? 

Oh  ^  fuj^ofitiofi  that  Vatvdfwdtaj  or  Jun-lom^ 
wasj  the  Noah  of  Scripture,  let  us  proceed  to  the 
Indian  account  of  his  pofterity,  whicli  I  extraft  frorii 
ih^  Puranart^haprecafay  oiThe  Purahis  Explained :  a 
work  lately  conipofed  in  Sanfcrit  by  Kadhucania 
ISarman^  a  Pandit  of  cxtenfive  learning  and  great 
fame  among  the  Hindus,  of  this  province^  Before  wc 
ilxamihe  the  genealogies  of  kings,  which  he  has  col- 
kdtdd  froni  the  Puranisy  it  will  be  rteceflary  to  give  a 
'general  idea  of  the  avatdras,  of  defcenis^  or  the  Deity; 
The  Hindus  believe  innumerable  fuch  defcentS  o*r 
fpecial  interpofitions  of  Providence  in  the  affairs  of 
thafikind,  but  they  reckon  ien  principal  dvataras  iri 
fhe  current  period  of  four  ages ;  and  all  of  theiti  are 
defcribed  in  order,  as  they  are  fuppofed  to  occur,  in 
the  fblldwing  Ode  oi  Jayadeva,  th^  great  lyrtc  p&et  of 
Ihdidi 

i.  ^^  Thoii  recovereft  the  /Wj  in  the  water  ot 
the  ocean  of  deftruiflion,  placing  ii  joyfully  in  the 
bofom  of  ah  ark,  fabricated  b^  thee^  O  Gefava^  afTum- 
ing  the  body  of  2,fijh.  Be  vidoTioufs,  O  Heri^  lord 
<rf  thd  univerfe  ! 

jr 

2,  **  The  earth  fltands  firnl  on  thy  immenfely 
broftd  back,  Ivhich   grow^  larger  &om  th^  callus. 

I4 


lao  ON  ThE  CHRONOLOGY 

occasioned  by  bearing  that  vaft  burden,  0  CtfavCj  aC» 
fuming  the  body  of  a  tortoije.  Be  vidtorious,  0  Hcri^ 
lord  of  the  univerfe ! 

3.  •*  The  earth,  placed  on  the  point  oifthytulk, 
temains  fixed  like  the  figure  of  a  black  antelope 
on  the  moon,  O  Cefava^  alTuming  the  form  of  a 
hoar.  Be  viftorious^  O  Heri^  lord  of  the  uni- 
irerfe  J 

4«  "  The  claw  with  a  ftupendous  point,  on  the 
cxquifite  lotos  of  thy  lion's  paw,  is  the  black  bee  that 
flung  the  body  of  the  embowelled  Hiranyacaftpuy  0 
CefavUy  affuming  the  form  of  a  man-liotu  Be  vi^o- 
rious,  0  Heriy  lord  of  the  univerfe  ! 

5.  "  By  thy  power  thou  beguileft  Balij  O  tbou  thU 
raculous  dwarf,  thou  purifier  of  men  with  the  wa* 
ter  (oi'Gan^a)  fpringing  from  thy  feet,  0  Cefava^  af- 
fuming the  form  of  a  dwarf.  Be  vidorious,  0  Herip 
lord  of  the  univerfe  ! 

6*  "  Thou  bathefl  iii  pure  water,  confifting  of  the 
blood  of  CfiialriyaSy  the  world  whofe  offences  are  r^ 
moved,, and  who  are  relieved  from  the  pain  of  othei* 
births,  0  CeJaiHi^  alfuming  the  form  of  Parqfii^ 
Rama.  Be  vi&orious,  0  Herl,  lord  of  the  uai'* 
verfe  ! 

7.  "  With  eafe  to  thyfelf,  with  delight  to  the  Genii 
of  the  eight  regions,  thou  fcatrerclt  on  all  fides 
in  the  plain  of  combat  the  demon  with  ten  heads, 
0  Cejtivay  affuming  the  form  of  Rama  Chandra.  Be 
vidorious,  O  //m,  lord  of  the  univerfe ! 

8.  *;^  Thou  wearcfl  on  thy  bright  body  a  mantle 


(hining  like  a  blue  cloud,  or  like  the  water  of  Ya- 
Wmna  tripping  towards  tbee  through  fear  of  thy  fur- 
towing />/oa^A^^r^,0  Cefavay  affuming  the  fortn-of 
Bulla  Rama.  Be  viftorious,  O  Heri^  lord  of  the  uni- 
verfe  ! 

9. "  Thou  blameft(Ohi  wonderful  I)  the  whole  Ft^dj 
1?hen  thou  feeft,  O  kind-hearted,  the  flaughter  of  cattle 
prcfcribed  for  facrifice,  O  Cefava^  affuming  the  body  of 
Buddha.  Be  viftorious,  O  Her'ty  lord  of  the  univerfe ! 

10.  **  For  the  deftrudtion  of  all  the  impure  thou 
draweft  thy  cimetcr  like  a  blazing  comet  (how  tre- 
mendous !)  O  Cefava^  affuming  the  body  of  Calci* 
Be  vidonous^  O  Heriy  lord  of  the  univerfe  !'* 


Thcfe  ten  Avatar  as  are  by  (bme  arranged  according 
to  the  thoufands  of  divine  years  in  each  of  the  four 
ages,  or  in  an  arithmetical  proportion  from  four  to 
t)ne5  and,  if  fuch  an  arrangement  were  univerfally  re- 
ceived, we  {hould  be  able  to  afccrtain  a  very  material 
-point  in  ihe  Hindu  chronology ;  I  mean  the  birth  of 
Buddha^  concerning  which  the  different  Patuiits^ 
twhom  I  have  confulted,  and  the  fame  Pandits  at  dif- 
ferent times,  have  expreffed  a  ftrange  diverfity  of 
opinion.  They  all  ^ree  that  Calci  is  yet  to  come, 
and  that  Buddha  was  the  lafl  confiderable  incarnation 
of  the  Deity ;  but  the  aftronomers  at  Varanes  place 
him  in  the  third  age,  and  Radhacant  infifts  that  he 
appeared  after  the  thoufandth  year  of  the  fourth.  The 
learned  and  accurate  author  of  the  Dabiftany  whofe 
information  concerning  the  Hindus  is  wonderfully  cor- 
rect, mentions  an  opinion  of  the  Pandits^  with  whom 
-he  had  converfed,  that  Buddha  began  his  career  ten 
years  before  the  clofe  of  the  third  age;  and  Gd- 
^erdbana  of  Cajlimir,  who  had  cnce  informed  me 
'  ihat  Crijhna  dcfcended  two  centuries  before  Buddha^ 


122  ON    THE    CHROKOL06T 

afilired  me  Tarely  that  the  Cajhmiriam  adnlltted  iA 
interval  of  twenty-four  years  (others  allow  only 
twelve)  between  thefe  two  divine  perfons.  The  beft 
authority,  after  all,  is  the  Bhagawat  itfelf,  in  the  firft 
chapter  of  which  it  is  exprefsly  declared,  that  *^  Bud^ 
**  JZf^,  the  fon  oi  Jina^  would  appear  at  Cicata  for 
'*  the  pnrpofe  of  confounding  the  demons,  jtifi  at 
*•  the  beginning  of  the  Ca/iyug^'*  I  have  long  been 
convinced,  that,  on  thefe  fubjedts,  we  can  only  rea* 
fon  fatisfaftorily  from  writteti  evidence,  and  that  otir 
forenfick  rule  muft  be  invariably  applied  to  take  the  de^ 
clarations  of  the  Brahmans  mofl  firongly  dj^amft  them- 
felves ;  that  is,  agaitift  their  pretenjions  to  antiquity  | 
fo  that,  on  the  whole,  we  may  fafely  place  BuddJui 
iuft  at  the  beginning  of  the  prefent  age :  but  what  is 
the  beginning  of  it  ?  When  this  queftion  was  propoC- 
cd  to  Radhacanty  he  anfwered,  "  Of  a  period  com- 
*•  prifing  more  than  four  hundred  thoufand  yearf^ 
•*  the  firft  two  or  three  thoufand  may  reafonably  be 
**  called  the  beginning^^  On  my  demanding  written 
evidence,  he  produced  a  book  of  fome  authority,  conn 
pofed  by  a  learned  Gofuoamiy  and  entitled  Bhagawa^ 
tamaritay  or  the  IJeSar  of  the  Bhagawat ^  on  which 
it  is  a  metrical  comment ;  and  the  couplet  which  be 
read  from  it  defcrves  to  be  cited.  After  the  juft  med* 
tioned  account  of  Buddha  in  the  text,  the  commea^ 
lator  fays, 

Afau  vyailah  caletabdafahafradwiinyi  gate^    ■ 
Murtih  j^ataiavernayya  dwibhuja  chicurojfhihti 

*  He  became  vifil^rte,  the-thoufand-and-fecond-year-of* 

*  \h&  C^\-age  being  paft ;  his   body  of-a-colour-bc-a 
«  tween-white  and-ruddy,  with-two-atms^    without-* 

*  hair  on  his  headi 

Qcata^  named  in  the  text  as  the  birth-place  nf 


OP    THE    HINDUS-  t%$ 

^uddJtaj  the  Gofwami  fuppofes  to  have  been  Dher- 
rnananyaj  a  wood  near  Gaya^  where  a  coloflal  image 
of  that  ancient  deity  ftill  remains.  It  feemed  to  me  of 
black  ftonc;  but,  as  I  faw  it  by  torch-light,  Lcannot 
be  pofitive  as  to  its  colour,  which  may  indeed  have 
been  changed  by  time. 

The  Brahmans  univerfally  fpeak  of  the  Bauddhas 
with  all  the  malignity  of  an  intolerant  fpirit;  yet  the 
moli  orthodox  among  them  confider  Buddha  himfelf 
as  an  incarnation  of  Vijknu.     This  is  a  contradii^tion 
hard  to  be  reconciled,  unlefs  we  cut  the  knot,  in*, 
ftead  of  untying  it,   by  fuppofing  with  Glorgiy  that 
there  were  two  BuddhaSy  the  younger  of  whom  efta- 
bliflbed  the  new  religion,  which  gave  fo  great  offence 
in  India^  and  was  introduced  into  China  in  the  firft 
century  of  our  sera.     The   Cajhm'irian  before  men- 
tioned aflcrted  this  faft,  without  being  led  to  it  by 
any  queftion  that  implied  it ;  and  we  may  havereafon 
to  fuppofe  that  Buddha  is  in  truth  only  a  general 
word  for  a  Philofopher.     The  author  of  a  celebrated 
Safifcrit  Diftionary,  entitled  from  his  name  Amara' 
cojha^  who  was  himfelf  a  Bauddha^  and  flourilhed  in 
.  the  firft  century  before  Chrift^  begins  his  vocabulary 
with  nine  words  that  fignify  heaven^  and  proceeds  to 
thofe  which  mean  a  deity  in  general;  after  which  come 
different  clajfes  of  Godsy  Deniigodsy  and  Demofis^  all  by 
generic  names ;  and  they  are  followed  by  two  very 
remarkable    heads ;    fii'ft  (not  the  general  names  of 
.Buddhuj  but)  the  names  of  a  Buddha-in  general^  of 
which  he  gives  us  eighteen,  fuch  as   Muni^  Sajlri^ 
Mmiindray    Pinayacaj    Samantabhadra    Dhermaraja^ 
Sugata^  and  the  like ;  moft  of  them  (ignificativc  of 
excellence y  wifdom^  virtue ^  2Si^  fa7t(lity ;  fecondly,  the 
names  of  a  parlicular'^Buddha-Muni-vihchdefcended' 
in-che-family-of-.S^r)'^  (thefe  are   the  very  words  of 
the  original)  and  his  titles  are^  Sacyamuni,  Sacya/inia, 


124  ON  THE  CHRONOLOGlr 

Servarfhajiddha,  Saudhodani,  Gauiama^yfrcaiandkui 
or  Kin/hian  of  the  Sun,  and  Mayadevifuta^  or  Child 
of  Maya.     Thence  the  author  paffes  to  ihe  different 
epithets  of  particular  Hindu  deities.     When  I  point- 
ed out  this  curious  paffage  to  Radhacanty  he  contend-^ 
ed  that  the  firft  eighteen  names  were  ^<?wr/7/ epithets, 
and  the  following  feven  proper  mimes^  or  pattonymicSi 
of  one   and  the  fame  perlon ;  but  Ramalochan^  my 
own  teacher,  who  though  hot  a  lirahnan  is  an  excel- 
lent fcholar  and  a  very  fenfible  unprejudiced  man, 
affured  me  that  Buddha  was  a  generic  word,  like 
Deva^  and  that  the  learned  author,  having  exhibited 
the  names  of  a  Devata  in  general,  proceeded  to  thofe 
of  a  Buddha  in  general,  before  he  came  to  particulars : 
he  added,  that  Buddha  might  mean  a  Sage  or  Philo'^ 
fopher^  though  Budha  was  the  word  commonly  ufcd 
for  a  mere  wife  man  without  fupernatural   powers. 
It  feems  highly  probable,    on   the  whole,  that   the 
Buddha  whom  Jayadeva  celebrates  in  his  Hymn,  was 
the  Sacyafinha,  or  Lion  of  Sacya^  who,  though  he  for* 
bade  the  facrifices  of  cattle,  which  the  Vedus  ci^oin, 
was  believed  to  be  Vijhnu  himfelf  in  a  human  form, 
and  that  another  Buddha^  one  perhaps  of  his  followci^ 
in  a  later  age,  alluming  his  name  and  charafter,  at-* 
tempted  to  overfet  the  whole  fyftem  of  the  Brahfnan$f 
and  was  the  caufe  of  that  perfecution,   from  which 
the  Bauddhas  aire  known  to  have  fled  into  very  diftaat 
regions.    May  we  not  reconcile  the  lingular  difference 
of  opinion  among  the  Hindus  as  to  the  time  q{  BuJ-^ 
dha*s  appearance,  by  fuppofing  that  they  have  con- 
founded the  two  BuddhaSf  the  firft  of  whom  was  bom 
a  few  years  before  the  clofe  of  the  laft  age,  and  the 
fecond,  when  above  a  thoufand  years  of  the  preient 
age  had  elapfed  ?     We  know  from  better  authorities, 
and  with  as  much  certainty  as  can  juftly  be  expcA^ 
on  fo  doubtful  a  fubjeft,  the  real  time,  compared 
with  our  ovi^n  sra^  when  the  ancient  Buddha  began  to 


OF    THE    HINDUS,  I25 

diftinguifti  himfelf ;  and  it  is  for  this  rcafon  principally 
that  1  have  dwelt  with  minute  anxiety  on  the  fubje<^ 
of  the  laft  Avatar.  « 

The  Brahmans^  who  affiftcd  Abulfazi  in  his  curi- 
ous but  fuperficial  account  of  his  matter's  empire, 
informed  him,  if  the  figures  in  the  Aymi  Achari  be 
correftly   written,  that  a  period  of  2962  years  had 
clapfcd  from  the  birth  of  Buddha  to  the  40th  year  of 
4ebar^%  t-eign  ;  which  computation  will  place  his  birth 
in  the  i366ih  year  before  that  of  our  Saviour;  but, 
when  the  Chinefe  government  admitted  a  new  religion 
from  India,  in  the  firft  century  of  our  aera,  they  made 
particular  enquiries  toncerning  the  age  of  the  old 
Indian  Buddha^  whofe  birth,  according  to  Couplet ^  they 
place  in  the  41ft  year  of  their  28th  cycle,  or  1036 
years  Before  Chri/l ;   add  they  call  him,  fays  he,  Foe^ 
the  fon  of  Moye  or  Maya ;  but  M,  De  Guignes^  on  the 
authority  of   four  Chinefe  biftorians,  afferts,  that  Fo 
was  born  about  the  year  before  Chri/l  1027,  in  the 
kingdom  of  Cajhmir.      Giorgi,   or  rather  Caffiano^ 
from  whofe  papers  his  work  was  compiled,  aifures  us, 
that,  by  the  calculation  of  the  Tibetians^  he  appeared 
only   959    years  before    the    Chriftian  epoch ;    and 
M.  Baillyf  with  fome  hefitation,  places  him   1031 
before  it,  but  inclines  to  think  him  far  more  ancient, 
confounding  him,  as  I  have  done  in  a  former  traft, 
with  the  firft  Buddha^  or  Mercury^  whom  the  Goths 
.called  Woden^  and   of  whom  I  (hall  prefently  take 
particular  notice.     Now,  whether  we  aflume  the  me- 
dium of  the  four  latt-mentioned  dates,  or  implicitly 
rely  on  the  authorities  quoted  by  De  Guignes^  we  may 
conclude,  that  Btuldha  was  firft  diftinguiOied  in  this 
country  about  a  thoiifand  years  before  the  beginning 
of  our  sera  ;    and  whoever,  in  fo  early  an  age,  expects 
a  certain  epoch  unqualified  with  about  or  nearly,  will 
be  greatly  difappointed.     Hence  it  is  clear,  that,  whe- 


ia6  ON    THE    CHRONOLOGY 

thcr  the  fourth  age  of  the  Hindus  began  about  o/wp 
thoufand  years  before  Chrtji^  according  to  Gover* 
dhan\  account  of  Buddha^ s  "birth,  or  two  thoufand, 
according  to  that  of  Radhacant^  the  common  opinion 
that  4888  years  of  it  are  now  elapfed/  is  erroneous  i 
and  here  for  the  prefent  we  leave  Buddha^  with  an 
intention  of  returning  to  him  in  due  time;  obferving 
only,  that  if  the  learned  hidians  differ  fo  widely  in' 
their  accounts  of  the  age  when  their  ninth  Avatar 
appeared  in  their  country,  we  may  be  afTured  that  they 
have  no  certain  chronology  before  him,  and  may  fuf* 
pe£t  the  certainty  of  fill  the  relations  concerning  even 
\i^  appearance. 

The  received  chronology   of  the  Hindus    begins 
with  an  abfurdity  fo  monftrous,  as  to  overthrow  the 
whole  fyftem  ;    for,  having  eftablilhed  their  period  of 
Jeventy-'One  divine  ages^  as  the  reign  of  each  Menu^  yet 
thinking  it  incongruous  to  place  a  holy  perfonage  iq 
times  of  imj^urity^  they  infift  that  the  Menu  reigns 
only  in  every  golden  age,  and  difappears  in  the  three 
hwnan  ages  that  follow  it,  continuing  to  dive  and 
emerge  like  ^  water-fowl,  till  the  clofe  of  his  Man-e 
v^antara.     The  learned  author  of  the  Furanat;fhapra* 
eqfa,  which  I  will  now  follow  ftep  by  ftep,  mentioti- 
ed  this  ridiculous  opinion  with  a  ferious  face  $  buty 
2^s  he  has  not  inferted  it  in  his  work,  we  niay  cake  bis 
account  of  the  feventh  Menu  according  to  its  obvious 
and  rational  meaning  ;  and  fuppofe  that  Fai/vq/wata^ 
the  fon  of  Surya^  the  fon  of  Cafya.pa^  or  Uranus^  the 
fon  of  Marirhiy  or  Light :   the  fon  of  Brahma,  which 
is  clearly  an  allegorical  pedigree,  reigned  in  the  laft 
golden  age,  or,  according  to  the  Hindus j  three  miU 
lion  eight  hundred  and  ninety- two  thoufand  eight 
hundred  and  eighty-eight  years  ago.     But  they  con- 
rend  that  he  aftually  reigned  on  earth  one  million/even^ 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  thoufand  years  of  morta^  01? 


.-•.■-■v 


OP    TH£    HINDUS*  t2J 

four  thoiifand  eight  hundred  years  of  the  Gods ;  and 
this  opinion  is  another  monfter  fo  repugnant  to  the 
courfe  of  nature  and  to  human  reafon^  that  it  mufl: 
be  rejeded  as  wholly  fabulous,  and  taken  as  a  proof, 
that  the  Indians  know  nothing  of  their y««.^<?fTi  Menu 
but  his  name  and  the  principal  event  of  his  fife  ;  I 
mean  the  unvverfal  dtluge^  of  which  the  three  firft 
^vaiars  are  inerely  allegorical  reprefentajtipns,  with  a 
mixture,  c{|)ccially  in  the  Jecondy  of  aftronomical 
mythology. 

From  this  Meim  the  whole  race  of  men  is  believed 
to  have  defcended  ;  for  the  feven  Bijhis^  who  were 
preferved  with  him  in  the  ark,  are  not  mentioned  as 
fathers  of  human  families  \  but,  fince  his  daughter 
lla  was  married,  as  the  Indians  (ell  us,  to  the  firfl: 
Buddha^  or  Mercury y  the  fon  of  Ch(indray  or  the 
Moony  a  male-deity,  whofe  father  was  jitri^  fon  of 
Prahma  (where  again  we  meet  with  an  allegory 
pui^ely  aftronomical  or  poetical)  his  poAerity  are  di- 
vided inta  two  great  branches,  called  the  Children  of 
the  Suns  from  his  own  fuppofed  father ;  and  the  dl/A 
dren  of  the  Moon^  from  the  parent  of  his  daughter's 
hufband.  The  lineal  male  defendants  in  both  thefe 
families,  are  fuppofed  to  have  reigned  in  the  cities  of 
Ayodhyay  or  Jiudhy  and  Pratifhfhanay  or  Vitora^  re* 
fpeftively  till  the  thousandth  year  of  the  prefent  0ge\ 
and  the  names  of  all  the  princes  in  both  lines  having 
been  diligently  collefted  by  Radhacant  from  feverai 
furanasy  I  exhibit  them  in  t\yo  columns,  arranged  by 

fe^wi^h  great  attention. 


» 


ON   THE    CHROVOLOG^T 


SECOND     A  GE. 


CHILDREN    OF    THE 


SUN. 

MOON. 

Icjhwacuy 

Budha^ 

VtQucJhiy 

Pururavas^ 

Cucutft*ha, 

Ayufti, 

Aneas^ 

Nabu(ha, 

5.    Trifhu^ 

Yayati^ 

Vifwagandhi, 

Puru, 

Chandra, 

J^namcjaya, 

Yuvanafwa, 

Pracbinwat,^ 

Srava^ 

Pravira, 

10,   Vrihadafwa, 

Mcnafyu, 

Dhundhumara^ 

Charupada, 

Drid'hafwa^ 

Sudyu, 

Heryafwa, 

Babugava^ 

Nicumbha, 

Sanyati. 

15.   Crifafwa, 

Abanyati, 

Sen^jit, 

Raudrafwas 

.  ..Yv^vanafwa, 

Riteyuflb, 

Mandbatri^ 

Rantinava^ 

Purucutfa, 

Sumati^ 

20.    Trafadafyu, 

Aiti, 

Anaranya, 

Dujhinantay 

Heryafwa, 

Bharafa^ 

Praruna^ 

(Vitat'ba, 

JQ*. 


H 


,OP  TBI  BIMDVS. 


Hf 


CHIX.D&EH  OJ:  the 

STTN. 

Mooir. 

Trivindhana, 

Manyu, 

Satyavrata^ 

Vrihatcihctra, 

Trifancu, 

Haftin, 

Harifchandray 

Ajamid'ha,    . 

Rohita^ 

Ridha,     . 

Harita, 

Samwaranas    . 

1    Champa, 

Curuj 

Sudeva, 

Jahnuj    . ,.  • 

Vijaya, 

Surat'ha, 

*  Bbaruca, 

Vidutat'ha,  : 

Vrica, 

Sanrabhai3ina,  * 

Bahuca, 

Jayatfcna, 

Sagara  , 

Radhica^ 

Aiamanjasy 

Ayutayufhp 

•  Anfumaty 

Acrodhana^ 

Bhagirafha^ 

Dcvatit'hi, 

Sruta, 

Riclha, 

Nabha, 

Dilipa^ 

Sindhudwipa, 

Pratipa, 

Ayutayulh, 

Santanu, 

Ricaperna, 

Fichitravirya^ 

Saudafa, 

Pandu, 

Afmaca, 

YudhiJhfMr) 

Mulaca, 

Dafarat'ba, 

^, 


35« 


40. 


4^ 


IL 


% 


13^  ON    TUC    CHltdKOLOGY 


CHILDREN    OP    THE 
5UK*  MOON. 

Aidabidf, 
g^.    Vifwafaha, 

C'hatwanga^ 

Dirghabahu, 

Raghu, 

Ajai 
^.     Dafarafhaj 

kafrm. 

It  is  agreed  among  all  the  Patuiits^  that  RatM^ 
their  feventh  incarnate  Divinity,  appeared  as  kin| ' 
of  Ayodhya  in  the  interval  between  the^/i;^.aa< 
the  bfixen  ages  J  and,  if  we  fuppofe  him  to  have^ 
began  his  leign  at  the  very  beginning  of  that  interval, 
ftill  three  thoiifand  three  hundred  years  of  the  Gods, 
or  a  million  one  hundred  and  eighty -eight  thoiifani 
lunar  years  of  mortals,  will  remain  in  xhtfilver  age, 
during  whi^h  thb  fifty-jive  princes  between  VaivaJ* 
itHita  and  Rama  miift  have  governed  the  world ;  but, 
reckoning  thirty  years  for  a  generation,  which  is  rather 
too  much  for  a  long  fucceffion  of  eldefi  fons,  as  they 
are  faid  to  have  been,  we  cannot,  by  the  courlc  of 
nature,  extend  the  fecoml  age  of  the  Hindus  beyond 
fix  teen  hundred  and  fifty  folar  years.  If  we  fuppofe 
them  tiot  to  have  been  eldeft  fons,  and  even  to  have 
lived  longer  than  modern  princes  in  a  diflblutc  age* 
we  (hall  find  only  a  period  of  two  thoiifand  y^iaisi 
and,  if  we  remove  the  difficulty  by  admitting  mira- 
cles, we  muft  ceafe  to  reafon,  and  may  as  vrell  belipvc"' 
at  once  whatever  the  Urahmam  chufe  to  tell  us« 


'OP  THE  Hindus;  131 

in  the  lunar  pedigree  we  meet.wlth  ahothef  abfur- 
dity  equally  fatal  to  the  credit  o^  the  Hindu  fyftem. 
As  far  as  the  twenty-fecond  degree  df  defceht  fix>m 
Vaivqfkioata^  the  fynchronifm  of  the  two  farhUiei 
appears  tolerably:  regular,  except  that  the  Children 
of  the  Moon  were  not  all  eid^  foiis ;  for  king  T^^i^/i 
appointed  the  youngeft  of  his  five  fbris  to  fUccecd 
him  in  Indtaj  and  allotted  inferior  kingdoms  to  th6 
other  four,  who  had  offended  him  5  part  of  the. 
dacjhm^  or  the  fouth^  to  ynd%iy  the  anceftoir  of 
Crijknai  the  north  to  Anuy  the  eaft  tp  Druhy'a^ 
and  the  weft  to  Tnrvajn^  from  whom  the!  PatuSiti 
believe^  or  pretend  to  believe,  in  complim^iit  ^o  our 
nation,  that  we  are  defcehded;  But  of  the  fubfe- 
quent  degrees  in  the  lunar  line  they  kno\^  fd  little; 
that,  unable  to  fupply  a  confiderable  int&rviil  between 
Bharat  and  Fitat^hay  whom  they  tall  fpn  and  fuc- 
ceffor,  and  are  under  a  neceffity  of  aflerting,  that 
the  gteat  anceftor  of  Yudhijhihr  aAuallv  reigned 
feven-and  twenty  thoiifand  years :  a  fable  of  the.  lame 
clafs  with  that  of  his  wonderful  birth;  which  is  the 
fubjeA  of  a  beautiful  Indian  drama.  No\v^  if  we 
fuppofe  his  life  to  have  laded  no  longer  than  that  of 
other  mortals,  and  admit  Fitafha  and  the.  reft  to  have 
.been  his  regular  fucceflbrs,  we  ftiall  fall  into  another 
abfurdity  ;  for  then^  if  the  generations  in  both  linei 
were  nearly  equal,  as  they  would  naturally  have  been^ 
we  (hall  find  Yudhijhfhiry  who  reigned  donfefledly 
at  the  clofe  of  the  brazen  age,  nii^e  generations  older 
•than  Rama,  before  whofe  birth  the  Jilver  age  is  al- 
lowed to  have  ended.  After  the  name  of  Bharat^ 
theiefore^  1  have  fet  an  afteriik,  to  denote  a  conlider^ 
able  chafm  in  the  Indian  hiftory,  and  h^te  inferted 
betwten  bracketSj  as  out  of  their  plaCcS,  his  twenty^ 
,fmr  fucceflbrs,  who  reighed^  if  at  all^  in  the  fol- 
lowing age,  immediately  before  the  war  of  the  Afahai^ 
.iarat.  The  fourth  jivatar^  which  is  placed  in  the 
interval  between  the  firJl  and  fecond  ages^  and  the 


t^Z  OV    THE    ednOKOLOGY 

^fih  which  foon  followed  it,  appear  to  be  moral  fables, 
grounded  on  hiflorical  fads.  Tht  fourth  was  the 
punifhment  of  an  impious  monarchy  by  the  Deity 
himfelf  hurfiing  from  a  marble  calumny  in  the  (hape 
of  a  Uo9i ;  and  the  fifih  was  the  humiliation  of  an 
arrogant  prince,  by  fo  contemptible  an  agent  as  a 
mendicant  dwarf.  After  thefe,  and  immediately 
before  Buddha^  come  three  great  warriors,  all  named 
Rama ;  but  it  may  juflly  be  made  a  queilion,  who* 
thet  they  are  not  three  reprefentations  of  one  perfbn^ 
or  three  different  ways  of  relating  the  fame  hiftory. 
The  fvrft  and  fecond  Ramas  are  faid  to  have  been 
contemporary  ;  but  whether  all  or  any  of  them  mean 
Rama,  the  fon  of  Cujh^  I  leave  others  to  determine* 
The  mother  of  the  fecond  Rama  was  named  Gnsp- 
fralyaj  which  is  a  derivative  of  Cujhalay  and,  though 
his  father  be  diflinguKhed  by  the  title  or  epithet  of 
Dafarafha^  Signifying  that  ht  'ivar- chariot  Bore  him 
to  all  quarters  of  the  worldly  yet  the  name  of  Cuflk^ 
as  the  Cafiimiriam  pronounce  it,  is  preferved  entirtf 
in  that  of  his  fon  and  fucceffor,  and  (hadowed  in 
that  ot  his  anceftor  Viatcjhi ;  nor  can  a  juft  objec- 
tion be  made  to  this  opinion  from  the  nafal  AnAian 
vowel  in.jiie  Ramah^  mentioned  by  MofeSy  iincc 
the  very  word  Arab  begins  with  the  fame  letter, 
which  the  Greeks  and  Indians  could  not  pronounce^ 
and  thet  were  obliged,  therefore,  to  expreft  it  by 
the  vowel  which  moft  refembled  it.  On  thia 
queftion,  however,  I  affert  nothing  ;  nor  on  ano- 
ther, which  might  be  propofed :  "  Whether  the 
*^  fourth  and  fifth  Avatars  be  not  allegorical  ftocies 
••  of  the  two  preliimptuous  monarchs,  NimrodzxA 
*^  Belus?"  The  hypothefis,  that  government  wa$ 
firll  eftabliflied,  la^vs  enaded,  and  agriculture  en- 
cm  raged  in  India  by  Rama  about  three  thot^Snkl 
eight  hundred  years  ago,  agrees  with  the  received 
account  cf  Iioah*s  death,  and  the  previous  iettlcment 
of  his  inunediote  dielcendants* 


-  1 


op  TH1.HI»:^XH.    -  133 


THIRD     AGE. 


CHJJ^P&SH  OF    TH9 
SITK.  MOON. 

Atit'hi, 
Nijhadha, 
Nabhas, 
5     Fundarica, 

ClhemadhanwaSy  Vitat*lia^ 
Dcvanica,  Manyu» 

'  Ahinagu,  Vrihatcflictra, 

Faripatra,  Haftin^ 

lo«    Ranach'halaa      Ajamid'hat 
Vajranabhaj       Ricfha, 
Arca^  Samwaranai 

Sugana^  Curu^ 

Vidhriti,  Jahnu^ 

!<•    Hiranyanabhaij  Surat'ha, 
Pufliya,  Vidurat'ha, 

phruva(andhi|   Sarvabbauma^ 
jBuderfan?^         Jayatfcna, 
Agniverna,        Radhica, 
?.o#    Sighra,  Ayuuyufli,  i^. 

Maru^  fuppofed  Acrpdhanaj^ 
...  tobeftiUalive, 
.  .  J^i^fruta,        Devatit'hi, 
'SawUu,  Ridha, 

■  K3 


134  f^   ^RK   CRROKOLOGT 

GHILDR&K  07THS  *- 

'■  .        *       ■ 

SUN.  MOQir. 

Amerfana^  Dilipa, 

zc.     Mahafwat,  Pratipa^  za. 

Vifwabhahu^  Santain^y 

Prafcnajit,  Vichitravirya|| 

Tacfhaca,  Pandu, 

Frih^Sak,  Yudhi/ht^hifa.  . 

30.    Vyihadrana,  Paricjhit^  25. 

Y.  B.C.  3190. 

Here  we  have  only  nin^'^nd'twenfjf.  princes  of  th^ 
folar  line  between  Rama  ^d  Vrihadrana  exclufively  y 
and  their  reigns,  during  the  whole  brazen  age,  are 
fuppofed  to  have  laftcd  near  eight  hundred  and  jKr/y-* 
four  tbottfandywc^i  tiif  fUppcfition  evidently  againft 
nature,  the  unifortp  qoprfe'  of  \yhich  allows  only  a 
period  of  eight  hundred  a^d  feventyy  oi;^  at  the  very' 
utmoft,  of  a  ttfoufand  years,  for  twentj-mne  gene- 
rations. Paricjhit.  the  great  nephew  2^nd  fucceflbr 
of  Yudhijhfhir^  who  had  recovered  the  throne  frbtii 
Duryodhariy  is  alloi¥ed  without '  controverfy  ta  hnvc 
reigned  in  the  interval  between  \ht  brazen  aqd  earthen^ 
ages,  and  to  have  died  at  the  fctting  in  of  the 
Callyug ;  fo,  that,  if  tTbe  Pandits  of  Camrnir  and  Z^- 
ranes  have  made  a  right  Calculation  ot  Buddha^  ap^ 
pearance,  the  prefent,  or  fourth^  z%t  muft  have  be* 
gun  about  a  thoufand  years  beforeuhe  birth  of  Chr^^ 
and  confequently  the  reign  of  Icjhwacu  could  not 
have  been  earlier  than  four  thoufand  years  before  that 
great  epoch;  and  even  that  date  will,  perhaps,  ap* 
pear,  when  it  (hall  be  ftriftly  examined',  to  be  near. 
two  thoufand  years  earlier  than  the  truth.  I  cannot 
leave  the  third  Indian  age,  in  which  the  virtues  and 
vices  of  nuuikind  are  faid  to  have  been  equal^  with^ 


OF   THE    HINDUS.  '  IJj; 

mit  obferving)  that  even  the  dofe  of  it  i^  manifeftly 
fabulous  and  poetical,  with  hardly  more  appearance 
of  hiilorical  truth  than  the  tale  of  Troj^^  or  of  the 
Argonauts ;  for  Yi^dhi/hfhir^  it  feems^  was  the  Ion 
of  Dhermaj  the  Genius  of  Ju/lice ;  Bhima  of  Pavan^ 
or  the  God  of  fVind ;  Arjun  of  Indra^  or  ;he  Firmar 
ment ;  Nacul  and  Sahadeva^  of  the  VwoCwnars^  tbc 
Cqftor  and  Pollux  of  India  i  and  BMJkma^  their  re* 
puted  great  uncle^  wa^  the  child  of  Ganga^  or  the 
Ganges^  by*  Santanu^  whofe  brother  X)ivapi  ^  fup- 
pofed  to  be  (till  alive  in  the.  city  of  Cahpa  ;>  all  which 
iifkions  may  be  charming  embelli(hments  of  an  heroib 
poems  but  are  juft  as  abifurd  in  civil  faiftory  as  the 
defcent  of  the  two  royal  &milies  fiqia  the  Sim  and  the 
Moon. 


JF  O  UR  TH    AGE. 


CHXLDllBK  OF  Tl^ 


SUN. 

Urucriya^ 

VatiaVridd^a, 

Pratiyyomaj^ 

Bhanu^ 

Devaca^ 

Sahadeva> 

Vira, 


3hanumatt 
1 9.    Praticafwa, 
Supraticaj 


MOONt 

Jananujaj/a^ 

Satamca^ 

Sahafranicay 

Afwamedhaja, 

Aiimacrilhna, 

Nemichacra^ 

Upta, 

Chitr^t'hay 

Suchirat'ha, 

Dhritimatji 

Suflbenai 


J  9^ 


K^ 


T^fif                      ON.TB&    CHROVOLOGY 

']•■.  ■     '  .'T   ■•:    *:            ..  .     ■     :  r.'     ■     ' 

,  ,     •  •  ■                      •■  ' 
•         .  '    1/    ,"       TCHILTJIL^Br   or    TH8. 

• 

• 

SUN.    .             •    •,  .  MOOK. 

.  :  SynaciQiatra,      Nwhacfliuh, 
.:•:  -     .  jMhcaray          SUc'binala, 
"  ;r5,.'VAntaric(ha,       Pajripfetva, 
-,;,     ,!  ...Sutapas,     :       Supaya. 

;   fji.;:  .  :inrthadc^^      iiNfi^i^ya, 
Barhi,                Derva, 

•■    .Is 

■  •                #  ■  ^ 

20.     Critanjaya,         Timi, 

Ran^njaya,     .   Yrih^rat*ha, 
Sahjaya,              SudaTa; 
Slocya,               Satanica, 
Suddhdida,         Durmadana, 

2o; 

1 

25.     Langatadi^,         Rahinara, 
Prafenajit^          Dandapani, 
Cftiudraci^.'        J^imi, 

25- 

* 

Sumitral            .Clhemaca. 

T'-r.       f    , 

• 

y.B.C.   2100* 

. 

.  i  ■   . 


In  both  femilifes,  ^x-'Hee,  /A/V/y  generations  s 
reckoned  from,  Yudkijhfhir^  and  froni  Vrihadbala  1 
contemporary  (who  was  killed  in  the  wtfr  of  Bhai 
by  AhhimanyUy  foo  Qt  ^rjfm  and  A^ther.of  Paricjh 
to  the  time  wTieja  thq  /^.^r  and  &«jr  dynafties  3 
believed  to  haw  become  extindt  in  the  prefent  divi 
age ;  and  for  thofe  generations  the  Hhidus  allot  a  { 
riod  of  one  thotifand  years'  only,  or  a  hundred  ye, 
for  three  generations ;  which  calculation,  though  p 


y  too  large,  is  yet  ^derate  enough^  compared 
I  their  ^b^iird  .accounts  of  the  preceding  ages ; 
they  reckon  eicacily  the  fame  number  of  years  for 
f i^  fleatrations  only  in.  (be  family  of  Jarafattdhm^ 
£t  kM  was  contemporfiiy  with  Indhififhir^  and 
xded  a Hev  dyriafty -of  princes  in  Magadha^  or 
wrx  aodthis  exad:  coincidence  of  the  times,  in 
^  the  three  races  are  fuppofed  to  have  been  ez- 
k,  has  the  appearance  of  an  artificial  chronology^ 
Md.ratber  from  imagination  than  from  hiftorical 
lehce,  efpecially  as  twenty  kings,  in  an  agcoom* 
Lttrely  modern,  could  not  have  reigned  a  dioo* 
L  years.  I,  neverthelefs,  exhibit  the  lift  of  them 
» curidiity,  but  am  far  from  being  convinced  that 
cf  diem  ever  exifted  ;  that,  if  they  did  exift,  they 
lid  not  have  reigned  more  tbany^i^  hwidredjetu^t^ 
n  fully  perfuaded  by  the  courfe  of  nature  and  the 
current  opinion  of  mankind. 


Kings  of  Magadha. 

Sahadeva, 

Suchi, 

Marjari, 

C(hema, 

Srutasravas, 

Suvrata, 

Ayurayulh, 

Dhermafutra, 

Niramitra, 

Srama, 

Sunacfliatra, 

Drid'hafena, 

Vrihetfena, 

Sumati, 

Carmajit, 

Subala, 

Srutanjaya, 

Sunica, 

Vipra, 

Satyajit. 

15^ 


JO.      vipra,  c^atyajic.  %o. 

Puranjayay  fon  of  the  twentieth  king,  was  put  to 

th  by  his  minifter,  SunacUy  who  placed  his  own 

Pradyota  on  the  throne  of  his  mafter ;  and  this 


ijS  ON  THE  CR&OKOtOGY 

revolution  conftitutes  an  epoch  of  the  bigbcft  iaf 
portancc  in  our  prefent  enquiry  j  firft,  becaufe  i 
happened  according  to  the  Bliagawatamrita^  two  year 
Cxa£Uy  before  Buddha*^  appearance  in  the  fame  king 
domj  next,  becaufe  it  i$  believed  by  the  lBndu$  Xi 
have  taken  place  three  ihfmfand  eight  htmdred  am 
dghty^eight  years  ago^  or  two  thgt^and  6ne  hundrei 
years  before  Chrifi;  and  laftly,  becaufe  ar  regula 
cbronol<^,  according  to  the  number  of  years  in  ead 
dynafty,  has  been  eftabli(hed  from  the  acceffion  o 
Pradyota  to  the  fubver(i(Hi  of  the  genuine  ffmdu 
government ;  and  that  chronology  I  will  now  lay  be 
fore  you,  after  obferving  only,  that  Radhacant  him^ 
{elf  fays  nothing  of  Buddha  in  this  part  oi  his  work 
though  he  particularly  mentions  the  two  preceding 
^v(jiiaras  in  their  proper  places. 

■  • 

Kings  of  Magadha. 

Y.  B.  ^ 

Pradyotaj,  ?ipa 

Palaca, 

Vifac'hayupa^ 

Rajaca, 

Nandiverdhana,  5  reigns  =?=  1 3, 8  years. 

Sifunaga^ 

Cacavernaji  1 9 

Cfhemadherman, 

Cflietrajnya. 

Vidhifara  5. 

Ajatasatru, 

parbhaca. 


OF  TR^  HI»]>VS«  139 


JTiwg^x  of  Mc^aiha. 

Y,B,a 

Ajaya 

Nandiverdhana' 

Mahanandi,         ic  r.  =  ^60  jr^ 

Nanday  .     i6oz 


This  prince^  of  whom  frequent  mention  is  n^de  in 
the  Sanfcrit  books,  is  faid  to  have  been  murdered^ 
after  a  reign  of  a  hundred yearsy  by  a  very  learned  and 
ingenious,  but  pafiionate  and  vindidive,  Brahman^ 
whofe  name  was  (JharuK^a^  and  who  raifed  to  the  throne 
a  mai^  of  the  Mdutya  race,  named  Chandra^upia.  By 
the  death  of  Nanda^  and  his  fons^  the  CJkatrty^  family 
gf  Pradyoia  became -cxtind,     • 


I 


Maury4  Kings. 

Y.B.e 

Chandragupta,  1302 

Varifara, 

Afocaverdhana,    . 

Suyafas, 

Defarat'ha,  5» 

Sangata, 

Salifuca, 

Somafarman, 

Satadhanwas, 

Vrihadrat'ha;        lo  r.  =;  137^ 


ON  .  TK1^..QI|R0«I0L0CST 

n  tte  death  of  the  tenth  Maurya  king^  his  [ 
aflumed  by  his  commander  in  chief,  Pujhf 
of  the  Stmga  nation  or  family. 


.t  • 


Sunga  Kings. 

—  Y«  B»  C% 

Pufhpamitra^  ^         1365 

Agnimitra, 

Sujycflit'ha, 

Vafumitra,. 

Abhadraqa*     5* 

Pulinda^ 

Gbofha.  f 

Vajramitra, 

Bhagav^ta» 

Devabhuti,         i  o  r.  =?  i  x  a  jf. 


/• 


The  iaft  prince  was  killed  by  his  minifter  / 
ieva^  of  the  Camia  race,  who  ufurped  the  thro 
Magodhfi^ 


Cantia  Kings^ 


Vafudeva, 
Bhumitra, 
Narayana, 
Suiarman,.  4  r.  =  345/. 


OF  TRB  HINDUS*  t4I 


A  Sudray  of  the  j^ndhra  hmWy^  having  murdered 
his  mafter  Sufamian^  and  feized  the  government^ 
founded  a  n)ew  dynafly  of 


Andhra  Kings. 

Y.BC. 

Balin, 

908 

Criftina, 

Srifantacarna, 

Paurnamafa, 

Lambodara,             5. 

Vivilaca, 

Meghaswata, 

Vatamana, 

Talaca, 

Sivafwati,                lo. 

Purifhhabheru, 

Sunandana, 

Chacoraca, 

Bataca, 

Gomatin                 15. 

Purimat, 

Medafira«, 

Sirascand'ha^ 

Yajnyafri, 

Vijaya                     20. 

« 

Chandrabija,         21  r.  =s  456  y. 

143  OV  THE  CHaONOtOGV 

After  the  death  of  Chandrahija^  which  happened,  ac- 
cording to  the  Hindus^  396  years  before  VieramadUya^ 
or  452  B.  C»  We  hear  no  more  of  MagaSha  as  an  in- 
dependent kingdom;  but  Radhacant  has  exhibited 
the  names  of  feven  dynafties^  in  which  Jeventy-Jix 
princes  ate  faid  to  have  reigned  one  thoufand  three 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  years  in  Avabhriti^  a  town  of 
the  Dacjhhiy  or  Souths  which  we  commonly  call 
Decan.  The  names  of  the  feven  dynafiies,  or  of  thC 
families  whoeftablilhed  them,  2Jt  Abhira^  Gardabhrn^ 
Canca^  Yavana^  Turujhcara^  Bhurtmday  Maula\  of 
which  the  Yavanas  are  by  fome,  not  generally,  fup- 
pofed  to  have  been  lonians  or  Greeks j  but  the  Turu^* 
caras  and  Manias  are  univerfally  believed  to  have 
been  Turcs  and  Moguls  ^  yet  Radhacant  adds,  "  when 
"  the  Maula  race  was  extinft,  five  princes,  named  Bku^ 
**  nafida  Bangira,  Sifimandiy  Yafonattdiy  and  Pravi^ 
t*  racay  reigned  an  hundred  and  fix  years  (or  till  the  year 
*•  1053  in  the  city  of  Cilacilay*  which  he  tells  me, 
he  underftands  to  be  in  the  country  of  the  Maharajh* 
trasy  or  Mahrattas ;  and  here  ends  his  Indian  chrono* 
logy;  for  "  ^it^x  Praviraca,**  fays  he,  "  this  empire 
^*  was  divided  among  MlecKhaSy  or  Infidels.*'  This 
account  of  the  feven  modern  dynafiies  appears  very 
doubtful  in  itfelt,  and  has  no  relation  to  our  prefent 
inquiry;  for  their  dominion  feems  confined  to  the 
Decany  without  extending  to  Magadha ;  nor  have  wc 
any  reafon  to  believe  that  a  race  of  Grecian  princes 
ever  eftabliflicd  a  kingdom  in  either  of  thofe  coun- 
tries. As  to  the  Mogidsy  their  dynafty  ftill  fabfifts^ 
at  leaft  nominally,  unlefs  that  of  Chengim  ht  meant ; 
and  his  fucceflbrs  could  not  have  reigned  in  any  part 
of  India  for  the  period  of  three  hundred  years,  whir' 
is  afligned  to  the  Manias ;  nor  is  it  probable  that 
word  Turct  which  an  Indian  could  have  e|fily  f 
nounced  and  clearly  exprefled  in  the  Nagari  ler 
ihould  have  been  corrupted  into  Turufhcata. 
the  whole,  we  may  fafely  clofe  the  moft  aut 


Oy  THE  H1NI>^US,  143 

fyftem  of  iTrnJu  Chronology  that  I  have  yet  bcea 
zblc  to  procure,  with  the  death  of  Chandrahija.  Should 
any  farther  information  be  attainable,  we  (liall,  per- 
hapsy  in  due  time  attain  it  either  from  books  or  infcrip- 
tions  in  the  Sanffrit  language ;  but  from  the  materials 
with  which  we  are  at  prefent  fupplied,  we  may  efta- 
blilh  as  indubitable  the  two  following  propofitions : 
That  the  three  firjt  ages  of  the  Hitidus  are  chiefly  wiy- 
thohgical,  whether  their  mythology  was  founded  oa 
the  dark  enigmas  of  their  aftronomers,  01^  on  the  heroic 
fiftions  of  their  poets ;  and  that  the  fourth^  or  hiftori^ 
cdl  age,  cannot  be  carried  farther  back  than  about  two 
thouiand  years  before  Chrift.     Even  in  the  hiftory  of 
the  prefent  age,  the  generations  of  men  and  the  reigns 
of  kings  are  extended  beyond  the  courfe  of  nature, 
and  beyond  the  average  refulting  from  the  accounts  of 
the  Brahmans  themfelves ;  for  they  aflign  to  an  hufi-- 
dred  and  forty-two  modern  reigns  a  period  of  three 
ilioiifand  one  hundred  and  Jifty- three  years,  or  about 
twenty-two  years  tq  a  reign  one  with  another;  yet  they 
leprefent  only  four  Canna  princes  on  the  throne  of 
Magadha  for  a  period  of  three  hundred  and  forty-Jive 
years ;  now  it  is  even  more  improbable  that  four  luc- 
ceflive  kings  (hould  have  reigned  eighty -fix  years  and 
ihr^e  months  each,  than  that  Nanda  (hould  have  been 
king  a  hundred  years,  and  murdered  at  lad.     Neither 
account  can  be  credited  ;  bur,  that  we  may  allow  the 
higheft  probable  antiqirity  to  the  Hindu  governmentp 
let  us  grant  that  three  generations  of  men  were  equal, 
on  an  average  to  an  hunared  years,  and  that  Indian 
princes  have  reigned,    one  with  another,  tzvo^cnd-- 
twenty:  then  reckoning  thirty  generations  from  Arjun^ 
the  brother  of  YudhiJThira^  to  the  extindtion  of  his 
race,  and  taking  the  Chinefe  account  of  BuddhJ%  birth 
.firom  M.  De  Guignesy  as  the  moft  authentic  mediuna 
between  Ahillfa%l  and  the  Ttbetians^  we  may  arrange? 
the  correded  Hindu  Chronology  according  to  Uie  fol- 


144  O^  '^BK  CHRONOLOCr 

lowing  table^  (upplying  the  word  about  or  nearly  (fince 
pcrfeft  accuracy  cannot  be  obtainedyand  ought  not  to 
be  required)  before  every  date. 


Y.  B.  a 


Abbimanyu,  fon  of  Arjun^ 

2029 

Pradyora> 

1029 

Btuldhay 

1027 

Nanda, 

699 

Balin^ 

149 

ficramadityiiy 

56 

Deva^ahy  king  of  Gaur^ 

^3 

I 

If  wc  take  the  date  of  BtMJui^s  appearance  from 
Ah^lfazl^  we  muft  place  Abhimanyu  2368  years  be- 
fore Chrijty  unlefs  we  calculate  from  the  twenty  kings 
of  Magadhay  and  allow  /even  hindred  years,  inftead 
of  a  ihoufand^  between  Arjxm  and  Pradyota^  which 
will  bring  us  again  very  nearly  to  the  date  exhibited 
in  the  table ;  and,  perhaps,  we  can  hardly  approach 
nearer  to  the  truth.  As  to  Raja  JSanda^  if  he 
really  lat  on  the  throne  a  whole  century,  we  mufl 
bring  down  the  Andhra  dynafty  to  the  age  of  Vicru^ 
maditja^  who  with  his  feudatories  had  probably  ob- 
tained fo  much  power  during  the  reign  of  thofe  princes, 
that  they  had  httle  more  than  a  nominal  fovereignty, 
which  ended  with  Chandrahija  in  the  third  ov  fourth 
century  of  the  Chriftian  ara^  having,  no  doubt, 
been  long  reduced  to  infignificance  by  the  kings  of 
Gaufj  dcfcended  from  Gopah.  But,  if  the  author  of 
the  Dabtftan  be  warranted  in  fixing  the  birth  of 
Buddha  ten  years  before  the  Caliyug^  we  muft  thus 
correft  the  Chronological  Table  : 


•\         <  tr. 


Pradyota  (rcckaniBg«Q,©r30  1  .       . 

generations)  J        ^  ^         ' 

NancUf  —^  13  or  313 

This  correAion  would  oblige  us  to  place  Ficrama-^ 

^tya  before  fianda^  to  whom,  as  all  the  Pandits  Bigree^ 

he  was  loi^  pofterior  j  an<l>  if  this  be  an  hiftorical 

bdii  it  ieems  to  qonfirm  the  Bhagawatamrita,  which 

fixes  the  beginning  of  the  Culiyug  about  a  thott/and 

years  before  Buddha ;  befides  that  Balm  would  then 

DC  brought  down  at  leaft  to  the  fixth,  and  Chundra^ 

1  l^a  to  the  tenth  century  after  Chrifty  without  leav- 

iogroom  for  the  fubleijueqt  dynafties^  if  they  reigned 

.  fiicccffively. 

Thus  have  we  given  a  iketch  of  Itidian  hiftory 
throi^h  the  longed  period  fairly  affignable  to  it,  and 
We  traced  the  foundation  of  the  Indian  empire  above 
three  thoufand  eight  hundred  yean  from  the  prefent 
time;  but,  on  a  fubjedt  in  itfelf  fo  obfcure,  and  fo 
much  clouded  by  the  fidions  of  the  BrahmanSy  who, 
to  s^grandize  themfelyes*,  have  defignedly  raifed 
their  antiquity  beyond  the  truth,  we  muft  be  (atif- 
ficd  with  probable  conjefture  and  juft  reafoning  from 
the  beft  attainable  data ;  nor  can  we  hope  for  a  fyf- 
tcm  of  Indian  Chronology,  to  which  no  objeftioa 
can  be  made,  unlefs  the  agronomical  books  in  San-^ 
ferit  (hall  clearly  afcertain  the  places  of  the  colures 
iu  fome  precife  years  of  the  hiftorical  age,  not  by 
loofe  traditions,  like  that  of  a  coarfe  obfervation  by 

YoL,JI.  ^  L 


146  OlTTirE  CHRioiKOLOG Y 

Chiron^  who  poffibly  never  exifted  (for  *'  he  lived,^' 
fays  Nnvimj  **  in  the  golden  age,"  whicH,inul|  lon^ 
have  preceded  the  Argmdutia  expedition)  but  by 
fuch  evidence  as  our  owr  aftronomer«^  •  and  icholar^ 
fl^all  allo\jr,to  be  unqxt;cpiiooaWc.  ■ 


.  .)  .A  . 

r-    •     •        » 


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QF  TH«  KIMDUS, 


H7 


A  CHRONOI/OQICAL  TABLE, 

according  to  one   of  the  Hypothefes  intimated  in  the 

preceding  T^a£i. 


CHRISTIAN  AKII 

rears 
fnm  1788 
^mr  teram 

MUSELMAlf. 

HINDU. 

jtdam^ 

Menu  L     Age  I. 

5794 

JSoah^ 

Menu  11, 

4737 

Deluge,                 *-^ 

^"'T 

413* 

Nimrad^ 

Hircuf^acafipu.  Age 

II.  4006 

Bel, 

Btf//, 

389* 

Rama^ 

jR^p»tf,     Age  III, 

3»87 

Jfloah's  death. 

—                     -«■ 

3787 

K 

Pradyota^ 

2817 

1 

Buddha.    Age  IV- 

2814 

f 

Nanda^ 

2487 

Baliny 

1937 

t 

Ficramadifyhy 

J  844 

Devapahy 

1811 

1 

Qri/f, 

t 

1787 

' 

Harayanfahy 

1721 

Saca^ 

1709 

miidi 

• 

1080 

Mahmud^ 

«A 

786 

Chenglz,                   rr- 

to 

548 

Taimur,             — 

• 

39  » 

BahuTy 

276 

4^\ 


49 


L\ 


^1 


.    t 


.  \ 


:*■ 


\ 


vm. 


ON  THE  CURE  OF  THE  ELEPHANTIASIS. 


BV  AT*HAS.  ACI  khan  of  SEHtt. 


w 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 


AMONG  the  afflided  maladies  which  punifh  the 
vices  and  try  the  virtues  of  mankind^  there  arc 
few  diforders  of  which  the  confequences  arc  mofe 
dreadful  or  the  remedy  in  general  more  defperate  than 
^tjiidham  of  the  jirabsy  or  khorah  of  the  Itiiiafii.     It 
is  alfo  cafied  in  Arabia  daufajad :  a  naine  correfpond* 
ing  with  the  LeonUaJis  of  the  Greeks^  and  fujppofed 
to  have  been  given  in  allufion  to  the  |rim  di(lni3:ed 
and  tionlike  countenance  of  the  mifcrable  perfons 
who  are  affefted  with  it.     The  more  common  name 
of  the  diftemper  is  Ehphantiafts ^  or,  as  Lucretius 
calls  it,  Elephasy   becaule  it   renders  the  Ikin,  like 
that  of  an  Elephant^  uneven  and  wrinkled,  with 
inany  tubercles  and  furrows  ;  but  this  complaint  muft 
not  be  confounded  with  the  dautfil^  or  fuoelled  legs^ 
ddcribed  by  the  Arabian  phylicians,  and  very  com- 
Qion  in  this  country.    It  has  no  fixed  name  in  Eng* 
i^,  though    Hillary^  in  his  Objerbations  on  the  Dif" 
^fes  of  BarbadoeSf  calls  it  the  Lefrofy  of  the  Joints^ 
ijccaufe  it  principally  afFefts  tht  extremities,  which 
>ki  the  lad  Itage  of  the  malady  are  diflorted,  and  at 
bgth  drop  c^^    but,  iince  it  is  in   truth  a  dif- 
temper corrupting  the  whole   maft  of  blood,   and 
Aotfore  confidered  by  Faul  of  ASgina  as  an  um» 
'o^fal  ulcer i  it  requires  a  more  general  appeHation, 
^  may  properly   be    named    the  Black  Leprofy: 
^Wch  term  is  m  fad  -adopted  by  M;  Boiffieu  de  Sau*' 
^fl|«  and  Gor^^euSj  in  contradiftindion  to  the  H^hite 

L3 


150  ON    THE    CURE    OF 

Leprofy,  or  the  Beres  of  the  Arabs,  and  Leiice  of  th 
Greeks. 


This  difeafe,  by  whatever  name  we  diftinguifli  i 
is  peculiar  to  hot  climates,  and  has  rarely  appeared  i 
Europe.     The  philofophical  poet  of  Ro77ie  fuppofes  -ii 
confined  to  the  Banks  of  the  Nile ;  and  it  has  certain!  -3 
been  imported  irom  Africa  into  tbe  Tfefi  India  iflanc3j 
by  the  black  llaves,  who  carried  with  them  their  r^=- 
fentment  and  their  revenge;   but   it  has  been  lon.^ 
known  in  Hittdnftan :  and  the  writer  of  the  followi 
Diflertation,  whofe  father  was  phyfician  to  Nadifha. 
and  accompanied  him  from  Perfm  to  Dehli^  aflur^=s 
me  that  it  rages  with  virulence  among  the  native  in- 
habitants of  Calcutta^    His  obfervation,  that  it  is  fre- 
quently a  confequence  of  the  venereal  infedion,  would 
lead  us  to  believe  that   it  might  be  radically  cured, 
by  mercury  ;    which   has,  neverthelefs,  been   found 
inefFeftual,  and  even  hurtful,  as  Hillary  reports,  ia 
the  Weft  Indies.     The  juice   of  hemlock,  fuggeftcd 
by  the  learned  M/chaelis,  and  approved  by  his  medi- 
cal friend  Roederer,  might  be  very  efficacious  at  the 
beginning  of  the  diforder,   or  in  the  milder  forts  of 
it ;  bur,  in  the  cafe  of  a  malignant  and  inveterate 
judharn,   we  mufl  cither  adminilter  a  remedy  of  the 
Jiigheft  puvver,  or,   agreeably  to  the  defponding  opi- 
nion   of  Celfus,  leave  the  patient  to  his  fate,  injiead 
cf  teajing  him  ivipi  frulilefs  medicines,  and  fufFer  him,, 
in  the  forcible  words  oi  Aretceus,  to  fink  from  inextri- 
cable  flumher  into  death.     The  life  of  a  man  is,  how-; 
ever,   fo  dear  to  him  by  nature,   and   in  general  fo 
valuable  to  fociety,  that  we  fliould  never  defpon^ 
while  a  (park  of  it  remains ;  and,  whatever  appreheo- 
fions  may  be  formed  of  future  danger  from  the   dif- 
tant  ettetfts  oi  arfenic,  even  though  it  fhould  eradicate 
a  preferit  malady,  yet,  as  no  fuch  inconvenience  has 
arifen  from  theufc  of  it  in  hidia^  and  as  experience 


THE    feLEPHANTIAStS;  t^t 

niiift  evet  jirevail  dvet  theory,  I  catinot  help  wiftiing 
that  this  sincient  Hindu  medicine  may  be  fully  tried, 
under  the  infpeftioti  of  our  European  furgeons, 
Whofe  mintite  accuracy  and  fleady  attentioh  muft 
always  give  them  1  claim  to  fuperioritjr  oyer  the 
ffloft  learned  natives  i  but  idiahy  of  our  countrymen 
have  aflured  me^  that  they  by  no  means  entertain  a 
contetnptupus  opinion  o^  the  native  medicines,  efpe- 
daily  in  difeafes  of  the  fkin.  Shdiild  it  be  thought 
§  tliat  the  mixture  of  fulphur  mull  render  the  poifoii 
lefs  adivej  it  ihay  be  advifeable  at  firft  to  adtniniAef 
orpimeiit^  infteitd  of  the  cf^alline  arfemx 


t4 


■  '■  \ 


I       « 


'     '  /  ■  , 


-  t       , 


■  k>  I      '       >• 


.«f-       J   k         - Iwi. 


'■  i 


(    »53    > 
ON  THE  CURE  OF  THE  ELEPHANTIASIS, 

3- 

AliD  OTHER  DISORDERS  OF  THE  BLOOD. 


OOD  IS  THE  AlrL-POWERFUL  HEALER. 


|N  the  year  of  the  Meffiah  1783,  when  the  worthj^ 
and  relpcAable  Matsjavi  Mir  Miihammed  Hufatn^ 
who  excels  in  every  branch  of  ufeful  knowledge,  ac- 
companied Mr.  Richard  John/on  from  Lac^hnau  to 
Calcutta^  he  vifited  the  humble  writer  of  this  traft, 
who  had  long  been  attached  to  him  with  fincere 
affeiftion ;  and,  in  the  coiirfe  of  their  converiation, 

*  One  of  the  fruits  of  my  late  excurfion,'  faid  he, 

*  is  a  prefent  for  you,  which  fuits  your  profefiion, 
^  and  will  be  generally  ufeful  to  our  Ipecies.  Conceiv- 

*  ing  ydu  to  be  worthy  of  it,  by  reafon  of  your  afli- 
^  dufty  in  medical  inquires^  I  have  brought  you  a'pre- 

*  fcription^  the  ingredients  of  which  are  ealily  found 

*  but  not  eafily  equalled,  as  a  powerful  remedy  againft 

*  all  corruptions  of  the  blood,  ihcjudham^  and  the 

*  Perfmn  fire,  the  remains  of  which  are  a  fource  of 
^  infinite  maladies.  It  is  an  old  fecret  of  the  Hindu 
'  phyficians,  who  applied  it  alfo  to  the  cure  of  cold 
^  and  moifldiftempers ;  as  the  palfy,  diflortions  of  the 

*  face,  relaxation  of  the  nerves,  and  fimilar  difeafes. 
'  Its  efficacy  too  has  been  proved  by  long,  experience  % 

*  atid  this  is  the  method  of  preparing  it  :<-— 

*  Take  of  white  oifenii:^  fine  and  frefii,  one  tDla\ 

*  of  picked  black  pepper  fix  times  as  much  :  let^both 
^  be  well  beajen  at  intervals  for  four  djiys  fuCccflively 

*  In  an  iron  niortar,  and  then  reduced  to  an  impalpa* 


154  O^    TttE    CURE   OP 

*  ble  powder  in  one  of  ftone  with  a  ftonc-pcftle,  arid 

*  thus  completely  levigated,  a  lirtle  water  being  mixed 

*  with  them.     Make  pills  of  the^;:!  as  large   a^  tafen 

*  or  fmall   pulfe,    and  keep  them  dry  in  a  (hady 

*  place*. 

'  One  of  thofe  pills  muft  be  fwaliowed,  morning 
«  and  evening,  with  fome  hefelAeaf^  or,  in  countries 
«  where  betel  is  not  at  hand,  with  cold  water.     If  thd 

*  body  be  deanfed  from  foulncfs  and  obllruftions  by 

*  gentle  cathartics  and  bleeding  before  the  medicine 

*  IS  adminiftercd,  the  remedy  will  be  fpcedier/ 

The  principal  ingredient  of  this  medicine  is  the 
ar/enicf  which  the  Arabs  call  Shtice ;  the  Perfiansi 
Mergi  Mitjhy  or  moufe-barie ;  and  the  Indians ^  Sanchya : 
a  mineral  fubftance,  ponderous  and  cryjialline.  The 
orpimenty  or  yellow  arfenic,  is  the  weaker  fort.  It  is 
deadly  poifon,  and  fo  fubtil,  that,  when  mice  are 
killed  by  it,  the  very  fmell  of  the  deid  will  deftroy? 
the  living  of  that  fpecies.  After  it  has  been  kept  abodt 


•  The  loweft  weight  in  general  ulc  among  the  IliuJus  ^  the 
reti^  called  in  Sanfcnt  either  rettica  or  ra^ica^  indicating  reJntfs ; 
and  criffmala^  from  crijhna^  hlatk ;  it  is  the  reti  and  ^lack  feed  of 
the  gunja  plant,  which  is  a  creeper  of  the  fame  clafs  and  order  at 
leaft  with  gl^yrrfii^ia  :  but  I  take  this  from  report,  having  tiever 
examined  its  ploiToma.  One  rattica  is  faid  to  be  of  equal  weight 
with  three  barley-corns,  or  four  grains  of  rice  in  the  hulk :  and 
eight  r^//-wcights,  ufed  by  jewellers,  are  equal  to  feven  carats.  I 
have  weighed  a  number  of  the  fetds  in  diamond-fcales,  and  find, 
the  average  apothecary's  weight  of  one  feed  to  be  a  grain  andfioc' 
fxteenths.  Now,  in  the  Hindu  medical  books,  ten  of  the  rattiia-' 
feeds  are  one  nun/haca  ;  and  tight  mc^hacas  make  a  iolaca^  or  tola ;  bilC 
in  the  law-books  of  Bengal^  a  mafliac a  cov\^\^%  oi  Jixteenra^icasy  and 
a  tohca  oi  five  mcjhas ;  and,  according  to  fome  authorities,  ^x^ 
rt^s  only  go  to .  one  ma/ha^  fifteen  of  Which  make  a  tolaca*  ^t 
may  obfervci  that  the  filver  rr/i- weights,  ufcd'by  the  goldfmiths  at 
Bafutres  art  twice  as  heavy  as  the  feeds ;  and  thence  it  is  that  eight 
retis  arc  conimonly  faid  to  conftitute  one  majha ;  that  is,  eigJu  fitver 
weights,  ovfixtetn  feeds,  rrjj/y  of  which  feeds,  6r  105  grains,  coflh 
(lituie  the  q\tantity  of  aHenic  in  the  Hindu  prefcription. 


THS    ELEPHANTIASIS.  I55 

feven  years,  it  lofes  much  of  its  force ;  its  colour 
becomes  turbid,  and  its  weight  is  diminiOied.  This 
mineral  is  hot  and  dry  in  the  fourth  degree  :  it  caufes 
luppuration,  diffolves  or  unites  according  to  the 
quantity  given,  and  is  very  ufeful  in  cloiing  the  lips 
of  wounds  when  the  pain  is  too  intenfe  to  be  borne. 
An  unguent  made  of  it  with  oik  of  any  fort,  is  an 
efFeftual  remedy  for  fome  cutaneous  diforders  j  and*  * 
mixed  with  role  water,  it  is  good  for  cold  tumours, 
and  for  the  dropfy ;  but  it  muft  never  be  adminiftered 
without  the  greateft  caution ;  tor  fuch  is  its  power, 
that  the  fmalleft  quantity  of  it  in  powder,  drawn,  like 
tlcohoJ,  betweien  the  eye-lalhes,  would  in  a  fingle  day 
entirely  corrode  the  coats  and  humours  of  the  eye ; 
and  fourteen  retis  of  it  would  in  the  iame  time  de- 
ftroy  life.  The  beft  antidote  againft  its  cffeds  are 
the  fcrapings  of  leather  reduced  to  yflies.  If  the 
quantity  of  arfenic  taken  be  accurately  known,  four 
(imes  as  much  of  thofe  afhes,  mixed  with  water  and 
drank  by  the  patient,  will  Iheaili  and  counterad  the 
poifon- 

The  writer,  conformably  to  the  direftions  of  his 
learned  friend,  prepared  the  medicine ;  and,  in  the 
lame  year,  gave  it  to  numbers,  who  were  reduced  by 
the  difeafcs  above  mentioned  to  the  point  of  death. 
GoJh  his  witnefs  that  they  grew  better  from  day  to 
day,  were  at  laft  completely  cured,  and  are  now 
.  living  (except  one  or  two,  who  died  of  other  difor- 
ders) to  atteft  the  truth  of  this  aflertion.  One  of  his 
firft  patients  was  a  P^rJ,  named  Menuchehrj  who  had 
come  from  Suraf  to  this  city,  and  had  fixed  his  abode 
near  the  writer's  houfe :  he  was  fo  cruelly  affliifted 
with  a  confirmed  lues,  here  called  the  Verftan  Fire^ 
that  his  hands  and  feet  were  entirely  ulcerated  and  al* 
moll  corroded,  fo  that  he  became  an  objeft  of  difguft 
and  abhorrence.  This  man  confuhed  the  writer  on 
his  cafe,  the  ftate  of  which  he  difclofed  without  re- 


•    \ 

■  \ 


156  ON    THE    CtTRE    OF 

ferve.  Some  blood  was  taken  from  bim  op  the  fame 
day,  and  a  cathartic  adminiftered  on  the  next.  On 
the  third  day  he  began  to  take  the  /ir/hiie-pills^  and, 
by  the  bleffing  of  Gody  the  virulence  of  his  diforder 
abated  by  degrees,  until  figns  of  returning  heakh  ap- 
peared, In  a  fortnight  his  recovery  was  complete, 
and  he  was  bathed^  according  to  the  praftice  of  our 
phyiicians.  He  leemed  to  have  no  virus  left  in  his 
blood,  and  none  has  been  fince  perceived  by  him. 

But  the  power  of  this  medicine  has  chiefly  been 
tried  in  the  cure  of  the  Juzam^  as  the  word  is  pro- 
nounced in  India:  a  diforder  infeding  the  whole 
Jhafe  of  blood,  and  thence  called  by  fome,  ^uli  khurt^ 
The  former  name  it  derived  from  an  Arahic  root, 
fignifying,  ih-  general,  amputation^  maiming^  excijion^ 
and,  panicularly,  the  truncation  or  erojion  of  the  Jin* 

ftrt^  which  happensi  in  the  laft  ftage  of  the  difeafe. 
c  is  extremely  contagious ;  and,  for  that  reafon,  the 
proiphet*    faid,     Ferru    mina^hnejdhumi  cama  teferru 
mina^l  afadj  or,  *  Flee  from  a  perfon  afflided  with  the 
*  judham^  as  you  would  flee  from  a  Hon.*   The  author 
of  the  Bahhru^^awahir^  or  Sea  of  Pearls j  ranks  it 
as  an  infedlious  malady  with  the  meajles^  ihtjfnall pox 
and  the  plague.     It  is  alfo  hereditary ^  and,  in  that  n 
fpeft,  clafled  by  medical  writers,  with  xh^gout^  tl 
confwjiptioH^  and  the  white  leprojy. 


A  common  caufe  of  this  diftemper  is  the  unwb 
fome  diet  of  the  natives,  many  of  whom  are  r 
tomed,    after  eating  a  quantity  oi  fijh^   to  f 
copious  draughts  of  milk,  which  fail  not  to  zi 
accumulation  of  yellow  and  black  bile,  wfaic 
.;.  gles  itiielf  with  the  blood  and  corrupts  it :  b' 

T  other  caufes}  for  2i  Brahman ^  who  had  ne' 

i  JiA  in  his  life,  applied  lately  to  the  compof 

■  eflTay,  and  appeared  in  the  highefl;  degree  a) 


THE  ELEPHANTIASIS.  I57 

a  corruption  of  blood ;  which  he  might  have  inheirited. 
or  acqqired  by  other  m^ans.  Xhofe  whofe  religion 
permits'  them  to  eat  he^^  are  often  expofed  .to  the 
.danger  of  heating  their  blood  intenfely,  through  the 
knavery  of  the  butchers  in  .the  Bazar ,  who  fatten 
their  calves  with  Balawer ;  and  thofe  who  are  (6 
ill-advif^d  as  to  take  frovoca fives  (a  folly  extremely 
common  in  India)  at  firft  are  infenfible  of  the  mii- 
chief,  but,  as  foon-  as  the  increafed  moilture  is  dif- 
perfed^  find  their  whole  mafs  of  blood  inflamed,  and, 
as  it  were,  aduft ;  whence  arifes  the  diforder  of 
which  we  now  are  treating.  The  Per^an^  or  yenc- 
real  fire,  generally  ends  i|i  this  m'alady ;  as  one  Devi 
Prajadf  lately  in  the  fervice  of  Mr.  Fanftttarty  and 
fome  others,  have  convinced  me,  by  an  unreferved 
account  of  their  feveral  cafes. 

It  may  be  here  worth  while  to  report  a  remarkaljle 
cafe,  which  was  related  to  me  by  a  man  who  had  been 
afflid:ed  with  xhcjuzam  near  four  years ;  before  which 
time  he  had  been  difordered  with  Perfian  fire,  and, 
having  clofed  an  ulcer  by  the  means  of  a  flrong  heal- 
ing plafter,  was  attacked  by  a  violent  pain  in  his  joints. 
On  this  he  applied  to  a  Cabiraja^  6r  Hindu  phyfician, 
who  g^ve  him  lome  pills,  with  a  pofitive  afTurance, 
that  the  ufe  of  them  would  remove  his  pain  in  a  few 
d^ys ;  and  in  a  few  days  it  was,  in  fa<£t,  wholly  re- 
moved ;  but,  a  very  ftiort  time  after,  the  fymptpms  of 
the  juzam  app^red,  which  continually  encreafed  to 
fuch  a  degree,  that  his  fingers  and  toes  were  on  the 
point  of  dropping  off.  It  was  afterwards  difcovered» 
that  the  pills  which  he  had  taken  were  made  of  cin* 
nabar,  a  common  preparation  of  the  Hindus  ^^  the 
heat  of  which  had  firft  ftirred  the  humours  ;' which, 
on  ftopping  the  external  difcharge,  had  fallen  on  the 
joints,  and  then  had  occafioned  a  quantity  of  adufl 
bile  to  mix  itfelf  with  the  blood  and  infe£t  the  whole 
mafs. 


58  CURE    OF    THE    ELEPII ANTI  ASTf?* 

Of  this  dreadful  complaint,  however  caufed,  tlfC 
irft  fymptoms  arc  a  numbnefs  and  rednefs  of  the 
whole  body,  and  principally  of  the  face,  an  impeded 
hoarfe  voice,  thin  hair  and  even  baldnefs,  ofFenfivc- 
perfpiration  and  breath,  and  whitlows  on  the  naik. 
The  cure  is  beft  begun  with  copious  bleeding,  and 
cooling  drink,  fuch  as  a  decodion  of  the  nili^er,  or 
I^yniphea^  and  of  violets,  with  fome  dofes  of  manna  : 
after  which  ftronger  cathartics  muft  be  adminiftered. 
But  no  remedy  has  proved  fo  efficacious  as  the  pills 
compofed  of  arfenic  and  pepper :  one  inftance  of 
their  efFedt  may  here  be  mentioned,  and  many  more 
may  be  added,  if  required. 

In  the  month  oi  February^  the  year  juft  mentioned^ 
one  Shaikh  Ramazani^  who  then  was  an  upper-fervant 
to  the  Board  of  Revenue,  had  fo  corrupt  a  mafs  of 
blood,  that  a  black  leprofy  of  his  joints  was  approach- 
ing; and  mod  of  his  limbs  began  to  be  ulcerated 
In  this  condition  he  applied  to  the  writer,  and  rt 
quefted   immediate   affiftance.      Though  the  difo* 
dered  flate  of  his  blood  was  evident  on  infpeftion,  ar 
required   no  particular  declaration   of  it,  yet  ma 
queftions  were  put  ro  him  ;  and  it  was  clear,  from ' 
anfwers,  that  he  had  a  confirmed  juzam :  he  then  I 
a  great  deal  of  blood,  and,  after  due  preparation,  t< 
the  arfenic-pills.  After  the  firft  week  his  malady  feer 
alleviated ;  in  the  fecond  it  was  confiderablv  diminif 
and,  in  the  third,  fo  entirely  removed,  that  the 
tient  went  into  the  bath  of  health,  as  a  token  tb 
no  longer  needed  a  phyiician. 


IX. 


OA'  THE  INDIAN  GAME  OF  CHESS. 

BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

IF  evidence  be  required  to  prove  that  Chefs  was  i^* 
>?ented  by  the  Hmc/ks,  we  may  be  fatisfied  with 
the  teftimony  of  the  JPerfiam;  who,  though  as  much 
laclined  as  other  nations  to  appropriate  the  ingenious 
inventions  of  a  foreign  people,  unanimoully  agree,  that 
the  game  was  impoiied  from  the  well  of  Lidia,  together 
with  the  charming  fables   of  yijhmijarman^  in  the 
fixth  century  of  our  aeni.    it  feems  to  liav ,'  been  imme- 
xnorially  known  In  Hlruiujlan  by  the  name  of  Chatu- 
ranga,    that  is,    the  four  atigas,  or  members  of  an 
army,  which  are  faid  in  the:  Amaracojha  to  be  hajly'- 
afuoarafhapadatam^   or    elephants^    horfeSj    chariots^ 
^A  foot- foldiers '^  and  in  this  fenfe  the  word  is  fre- 
quently ufed  by  epic  poets  in  their  defcriptions  of 
real  armies.      By  a  natural  corruption  of  the  pure 
Sanfcrit  word,  it  was  changed  by  the  old  Ferfians 
into  Chatrang ;    but  the  Arabs,  who  foon  after  took 
pofleffion  of  their  country,  had  neither  the  initial 
nor  final  letter  of  that  word  in  their  alphabet,  and 
confequently  altered  it  further  into  Shatranjy  which 
found  its  way  prefently  into  the  modern  Perfiariy  and 
*^  {"^ngth  into  the  dialeds  of  India,  where  the  true 
0erivatio^  of  the  name  is  known  only  to  the  learned. 
Thus  has  a  very  fignificant  word  in  the  facred  language 
^  the   Brahmans   been    transformed   by   fucceffivc 
Cflat>ges  \K\io  ao^edraz^fcacchij  echecs,  chefs,  and,  by 
f.  ^liimfical    concurrence  of   circumftances,    given 
^tx  to  the  Englijh  word  check ;  apd  even  a  namt 
?  ^V>e  Exchequer  of  Grtat   Britain.     The  beautiful 
^^licity  and  extreme  perfedion  of  the  game,  as  it  is 


l6o  ON  tHE   INDIAN 

commonly  played  in  Europe  and  ^Jia^  convihce  me 
that  it  was  invented  by  one  effort  of  fome  great  ge-- 
jiius ;  not  completed  by  gradual  improvements,  but 
formed^  to  ufe  the  phrafe  of  Italiati  critics,  byi  tk& 
fifi  intention ;  yet  of  this  fimple  game,  fb  exqutfitely 
contrived,  and  fo  certainly  invented  in  India^  I  cannot 
find  any  account  in  the  ckffical  writings  of  the  Brah" 
mans^    It  is,  indeed,  confidently  aiferted,  that  Sanf- 
£rit  books  on  Chefs  exifl  in  this  country;  and,  if  they 
can  be  procured  at  Banaresj  they  will  afTuredly  be 
fern  to  us.     At  prefent  I  can  only  exhibit  a  defcrip* 
tioft  of  a  very  ancient  Indian  gan>e  of  the  fame  kind^ 
but  more  complex,  and,  in  my  opinion,  more  modem 
ihan  the  fimple  Chefs  of  the  Perfians.     This  gam« 
is  alfo  called  Chaturanga^  but  more  frequently  Cha-^ 
ttttaji^  or  the  four  Kings^  fince  it  is  played  by  four 
perfons  reprefenting  as  many  princes,  two  allied  ai- 
mies  combating  on  each  fide.  The  defcription  ta  takea 
ftom  the  Bhawijhya  Puran^  in  which  Yudhiflii^hir  is 
Tcprefented  converfing  with   Fyqfay  who  explains  a| 
the  king's  requeft  the  form  of  the  fiftitious  watface 
and  the  principal  rules  of  it..    "  Having  marked  eight 
•*  fquares  on  all  fides,**  fays  the  fage,  "  place  the  red 
•*  army  to  the  eafl,  \\it  green  to  the  fouth>  the^^&cc^ 
«'  to  the  weft,  and  the  black  to  the  north :  let  the 
elephant  ftand  on  the  left  of  the  king ;  next  to  him> 
the  horfe\  then  the  loat  *y    and,   before  them  afl„ 
••  four  foot'/oldiers ;    but  the  boat  muft  be  placed  in 
"  the  angle  of  the  board/*      From  this  palTage  it 
clearly  appears,  that  an    army,  with  its  lour  angas^ 
muft  be  placed  on  each  fide  of  the  board,  fince  an 
elephant  could  not  ftand  in  any  other  pofition  on  the 
lejt  hand  of  each  king ;  and  Radhaeant  informed  me, 
that  the    board   confifted,    like  ours,   of  Jixty^four 
fquares,  half  of  them  occupied  by  the  forces,  :iiul 
half  vacant.    He  added,  that  this  game  is  mentioned 
in  the  oldeft  law-books,  and  that  it  was  invented  by  the 
wife  of  Ravauy  king  of  Lanca^  in  order  to  ^mufe  )xvxk 


*( 
<« 


GAME    OF    CUESS.  l6i 

with  an  image  of  war,  while  his  metropolis  was 
dofely  befieged  by  Rama,  in  the  fecond  age .  of  the 
world.  He  had  not  heard  the  ftory  told  by  Firdaufi^ 
near  the  clofc  of  the  Shahiamah ;  and  it  Was  probably 
carried  into  Perfia  from  Canyofuviaf  by  JBorzu  the 
favourite  phyjician,  thence  called  Paidyaprya^  of  the 
great  Aftujkiravan ;  but  he  faid  that  the  Brahmans 
of  Gaur^  or  Bengal^  were  once  celebrated  for  fuperior 
ikillin  the  game,  and  chat  his  father,  together  with  his 
fpiritual  preceptor  Jagannat'hy  now  living  at  IrtbeiUy^ 
had  inftruded  two  young  Brahmans  in  all  the  rules  of 
it,  and  had  fent  them  to  Jayanagar  at  the  requeft 

,  of  the  late  Bxija^  who  had  liberally  rewarded  them.  A 
fiip  or  boat  is  fubftituted,  we  fee,  in  this  complex 
game  for  the  rafh,  or  armed  chariot,  which  the  Ben- 
fale/e proixoimcc  rot' A,  and  which  the  Ferfians  changed 
into  rohh^  whence  came  the  rook  of  fome  European. 
nations ;  as  the  vierge  and  fol  of  the  French  are  fup- 

I  pofed  to  be  corruptions  of  y>r«^  and  ^/,  the  prime 
mia^er  and  elephant  of  the  Ferfians  and  Arabs.  It 
were  in  vain  to  feek  an  etymology  of  the  word  rook  in 
the  modern  Ferfian  language ;  for,  in  all  the  patTages 
txtrafted  from  Firdaufi  and  Jami^  where  rokh  is  con- 
ceived to  mean  a  hero  or  z  fabulous  bird,  it  fignifies, 
I  believe,  no  more  than  a  cheek  or  a  f%ce  ;  as  in.  the 
following  defcription  of  a  proceflion  in  Egypt ;— < 
**  When  a  thoufand  youths,  like  cypreffes,  box-irees, 
''  and  firs,  with  locks  as  fragrant,  cbeieks  as  fair,  and 
*'  bofoms  as  delicate  as  lilies  of  the  valley,  were 
*'  marching  gracefully  along,  thou  vvouldft  have  faid 
*^  that  the  new  fpring  was  turning  his  face  (not,  as 
Ufde  translates  the  words,  carried  on  rolhs)  from 
^'  ftation  to  flation."  And  as  to  the  battle:  of  the  du^ 
ftijipdlrArirM,  which  Ullerbelot  fuppofes  to  mean  doiizd 
pHtix  chevaliers^  I  am  ftrongly  inclined  to  tnink  that 
the  phfafe  only  fignifies  a  corhbat  of  twelve  ferfons 
fm  to  face,  or  fix  on  a  fide.  I  cannot  agree  with  ii^y 
ftiend  Radha^anty  that  »  Jhip  is  properly  intrcidaced 
Vot.IL  M 


l62  ON    THE    INDIAN 

in  this  imaginary  warfare  inftead  of  a  chariot  ^  in  which 
the  old  Indian  warriors  conftandy  fought ;  for,  though 
the  king  might  be  fuppofed  to  fit  in  a  car^  lo  that 
the  four  angas  would  be  complete,  and  though  it  may 
often  be  neceflary  in  a  real  campaign  to  pafs  rivers  or 
lakes,  yet  no  river  is  marked  on  the  Indian^  as  it  is 
on  the  Chinefe  chefs-board  ;  and  the  intermixture  of 
(hips  with  horfes,  elephants,  and  infantry  embattled  on 
a  plain^  is  an  abfurdity  not  to  be  defended.  The  ufe 
of  dice  may,  perhaps,  be  jultified  in  a  reprefcnta* 
tion  of  war,  in  which  fortune  has  unqueftionably  a 
great  (hare ;  but  it  feems  to  exclude  chefs  from  the  rank 
which  has  been  affigned  to  it  among  the  fciences,  and 
to  give  the  game  before  us  the  appearance  of  wlnft^ 
except  that  pieces  are  ufed  only,  inftead  of  cards 
which  are  held  concealed  :  neverthelefs,  we  finid  that 
the  moves  in  the  game  defcribed  by  Vyafa^  were  to  a 
certain  degree  regulated  by  chance ;  for  he  proceeds  to 
tell  his  royal  pupil,  that,  "  if  cinque  be  thrown,  the 
king  or  a  pavcji  muft  be  moved ;  if  quatre^  the 
elephant  I  ittrois,  the  horfei  and  if  ^im.rthe  If  oat** 


He  then  proceeds  to  the  moves  ;  '^  The  king  pafles 
freely  on  all  fides,  but  over  one  fquare  only  ;  and 
with  the  fame  limitation  the  pawn  moves,  but  he 
advances  ftraight  forward,  and  kilU  his  enemy 
through  an  eagle ;  the  elephant  marches  in  all  direc- 
tions, as  far  as  his  driver  pleafes ;  the  horfe  runs 
obliquely,  tfaverfing  three  fquares ;  and  the  fiip 
goes  over  two  fquares  diagonally/*  The  elephant, 
we  find,  has  the  powers  of  our  queen^  as  we  are  pleafed 
to  call  the  minifier J  or  genera ly  of  the  Perfians ;  and  the 
Jhip  has  the  motion  of  the  piece  to  which  we  give  the 
unaccountable  appellation  of  hijhop ;  but  with  a  reftric- 
tion  which  muft  greatly  lelTen  his  valuo. 


fC 


GAM£    OF    Ch£SS.  I65 

The  bard  next  exhibits  a  few  general  rules  and 
fuperficial  direftions  for  the  condu<5l  of  the  game: 
^*  the  pawns  and  xhtjhip  both  kill  and  may  be  volun- 
•*  tarily  killed  ;  while  the  king.^  the  elephant^  and  the 
"  horfe  may  flay  the  foe,  but  cannot  expofe  them- 
^f  felves  to  be  flain.  Let  each  player  preferve  his  own 
**  forces  with  extreme  care,  fecuring  his  king  above  all, 
"  and  not  facrificing  a  fuperior  to  keep  an  inferior 
"  piece."  Here  the  commentator  on  the  Puran  ob- 
fcrves,  that  the  Jiorjey  who  has  the  thoice  of  eight 
moves  from  any  central  pofition,  muft  be  preferred  to 
the  Jhlpj  who  has  only  the  choice  of  four ;  but  this 
argument  would  not  have  equal  weight  in  the  com- 
mon game,  where  the  hljhop  and  tower  command  a 
whole  line,  and  where  a  knight  is  always  of  lefs  value 
than  a  tower  in  aftion,  or  a  bi(hop  of  that  fide  on 
which  the  attack  is  begun.  **  It  rs  by  the  overbearing 
**  power  of  the  elephant  that  the  king  fights  boldly  j 
**  let  the  whole  army,  therefore,  be  abandoned,  in  or- 
"  der  to  fecure  the  elephant :  the  king  muft  never  place 
**  one  elephant  before  another,  according  to  the  rule 
"  oiGcciama^  unle/s  he  be  compelled  for  want  of  room, 
"  for  he  would  thus  commit  a  dangerous  fault ;  and,  if 
•'  he  can  flay  one  of  two  hoftile  elephants,  he  muft 
"  deftroy  that  on  his  left  hand."  The  laft  rule  is  e±- 
tremely  obfcure ;  but,  as  Gotama  was  an  illuftrious 
lawyer  and  philolopher,  he  would  not  have  condc- 
fcended  to  leave  diiedtions  for  the  gaiift  of  Chatw- 
ranjra^  if  it  had  not  been  held  )a  great  eftimatioo  by 
the\ncient  fages  of  India. 

All  that  remains  of  the  paflTage,  which  was  copied 
for  me  by  Radhacant  and  explained  by  hiro,  relates  to 
the  feveral  modes  in  which  a  partial  fuccefs  or  com- 
plete vidtory  may  be  obtained  by  any  one  of  the  four 
players ;  for  we  fliall  fee  that,  as  if  a  difpute  had 
arilen  between  two  allies,  one  of  the  kings  may  afllimc 
the  command  of  all  the  forces,  and  aim  at  feparate  con* 

M2 


264  ^N  THE   INDIAN 

qucft.  Firft,  ^*  When  any  one  king  has  placed  himfelf 
**  on  the  fquarc  of  another  king,  which  advantage  is 
♦*  called  SinJiafanay  or  the  throite^  he  wins  a  ftake^ 
.*^  which  is  doubled,  if  he  kills  the  adverfe  monarch 
*^  when  he  fcizes  his  place  ;  and,  if  he  can  feat  himfelf 
**  on  the  throne  of  his  ally,  he  takes  the  command  of 
"  the  whole  army."  Secondly,  **  If  he  can  occupy  fuc- 
** .  ceffively  the  throned  of  all  the  three  princes,  he  ob- 
**  tains  the  viftory,  which  is  named  Chaturaji ;  and  the 
"  ftakc  is  doubled  if  he  kills  the  lafl  of  the  three  juft 
**  before  he  takes  poffeffion  of  his  throne ;  but  if  he 
'^  kills  him  on  his  throne,  the  (lake  is  quadrupled." 
Thus,  as  the  commentator  remarks,  in  a  real  warfare,  a 
king  may  be  confidered  as  vidlorious  when  he  feizes 
the  metropolis  of  his  adverfary  ;  but  if  he  can  deftroy 
his  foe,  he  difplays  greater  heroifm,  and  relieves  his 
people  from  any  further  folicitude.  **  Both  in  gaining 
the  SinAa/anaand  the  CkaUiraji,*^  (^ys  Vyafa^  **  the 
king  muft  be  fupported  by  the  elephants^  or  all  the 
"  forces  united/*  Thirdly,  "  When  one  player  has 
**  his  own  king  on  the  board,  but  the  king  of  his 
partner  has  been  taken,  he  may  replace  his  captive 
ally,  if  he  can  feize  both  the  adverfe  kings ;  or,  if 
he  cannot  eflfeft  their  capture,  he  may  exchange  his 
king  for  one  of  them,  againft  the  general  rule, 
and  thus  redeem  the  allied  prince,  >yho  will  fupply 
''  his  place.**  This  advantage  has  the  name  of  AVi- 
facrijhta^  or  recovered  hy  the  king  ;  and  the  Hauca-- 
crijhta  feems  to  be^iinalogous  to  it,  but  confined  to 
the  cafe  of  Jhifs.  Fourthly,  **  If  a  pawn  can  march 
**  to  any  fquare  oa  the  oppofite  extremity  of  the  board, 
**  except  that  of  the  king  or  that  of  the  (hip,  he  af- 
*•  fumes  whatever  [K>wer  belonged  to  that  fquare  ;  and 
-"  this  promotion  is  called  Sliatpada^  or  rh^JixJiridesJ* 
Hire  we  find  the  rule,  with  a  lingular  exception,  con- 
cerning the  advancement  of  i\itpaw7iSy  which  often 
occafions  a  moft  interefting  ftruggle  at  our  common 
chefs,  and  which  has  furnifhed  the  poets  and  moralifls 


I 

cc 


cc 


CAME    OF    CHESS.  165 

of  Arabia  and  Terfia  with  many  lively  refle<Elions  on 
human  life.     It  appears  that  this  privilege  of  ShaU 
pada  was  not  allowable,  in  the  opinion  of  Gotamf^ 
when  a  player  had  three  pawns  on  the  board ;  but, 
when  only  one  pawn  and  one  fhip  remained,  the  pawn 
might  advance  even  to  the  fquare  of  a  king  or  a  (hip, 
and  affume  the  power  of  either.   Fifthly, "  According 
"  to  the  Rachafas^  or  giants  (that  is,  the  people  of 
Lancay  where  the  game  was  invented)  there  could 
"  be  neither  vidlory  nor  defeat  if  a  king  were  left  on  the 
"  plain  without  force :  a  iStuation  which  they  named 
"  CacacaJhCha^     Sixthly,  **  If  three  fliips  happen  to 
**  meet,  and  the  fourth  can  be  brought  up  to  them  in 
**  the  remaining  angle,  this  has  the  name  of  Vrihan" 
"  nauca^  and  the  player  of  tte  fourth  feizes  all  the 
*'  others.     Two  or  three  of  the  remaining  couplets 
are  fo  dark,  either  from  an  error  in  the  manufcript  or 
from  the  antiquity  of  the  language,  that  I  could  not 
underftand  the  Pandit* s,  explanation  of  them,  and 
fufpeifl  that  they  gave  even  him  very  indiftindt  ideas ; 
but  it  would  be  eafy,  if  it  were  worth  while  to  play  at 
the  game  by  the  preceding  rules  ;  and  a  little  pradicc 
would  perhaps  make  the  whole  intelligible,    On^  cif- 
cumftance,  in  this  extradt  from  the  Pumn^  feems  very 
furprizing :  all  games  of  hazard  are  pofitively  forbid-^ 
den  by  Menu^  yet  the  game  of  Chaturanga^  in  which 
dice  are  ufed,  is  taught  by  the  great  Pjqfa  himfeli^ 
whofe  law-traft  appears  with  that  of  Gotama  among 
the  eighteen  books  which  form  the  Dhermafajlra ;  but, 
as  Radhacant  and  his  preceptor  Jagatmafh  are  both 
employed  by  government  in   compiling  a  digeft  of 
Indian  laws,  and  as  both  of  them,  efpecially  the  vene» 
rable  fage  of  Tribeni,  underftand  the  game,  they  are 
able  I  prefume  to  affign  reafons  why  it  (hould  Have 
been  excepted  from  the  general  prohibition,  and  even 
openly  taught  by  ancient  and  modern  Brahmans^ 


M3 


<! 


I 

\ 


i 


8- 


•y. 


X. 


*  • 


TWO  l:ilSCRIPXIONS 


1        ■•  »■ 


FROM  tHB  VXKDYA  MOUNTAXlIf, 


Tranjlated  from  the  Sanfcrit  ly  Charles  Wttkins^  i!^^ 


FIRST    INSCRIPTIOK, 

In  a  CaverHf  called  tie  Grot  of  the  Seven  Rtflils^  nett  Gajei. 

K  A  NANTA  VARMA,  mailer  of  the  hearts  of 
J^f^  the  people,;  who  was  the  good  fon  of  Sre€ 
Sardoola^  by  his  own  birth  and  great  virtues  clafled 
among^  the  principal  rulers  of  the  earth,  gladlf 
called  this  ftatue  of  KreeJJma^  of  unfuUied  renown, 
confirmed  in  the  world  like  his  own  reputation,  and 
the  image  of  Kanteematee  *,  to  be  depofited  inj^o* 
great  mountain-cave.  ^'^ 

2«  Sree  Sardvoh^  of  eftablifl^d  feme,  jewel  of  the 
diadems  of  kings,  emblem  of  time  to  the  martial 
poffefibrs  of  the  earth, .  to .  the  fubmiffive  the  tree  of 
die .  fruit  of  defire,.  A  li^t  to  the  Military  Order, 
who&  glory  was  not  founded  upon  the  feats  of  a 
lingle  battle,  the  ravifher  of  female  hearts,  and  the 
image  of  Smara  ^f-,  became  the  ruler  of  the  land. 


^  Radhuy  i\i%  fj^ouriteoQiftrefs  of  Kre^na^ 
t  Kama  Dtva^  the  Cupid  of  the  HifuluSs 

M4 


l68  TWO  IKSCKI?;XOKS  i-ROM 

3.  Wherever  Sne  Sardooh  is  wont  to  caft  his  own 
difcordant  fight  cowards  a  foe,  and  the  fortunate  fUr| 
his  broadpye,  is  eai|amed  with  anger,  ^twe^  its  ex- 
panded  lids,  there  falleth  a  (hbwcr  of  arrows  front 
the  ear-drawn  firing  of  the  bow  of  his  fon,  the  ler 
powned  Anania  Varma,  the  beflower  of  infinite  hajh- 
pinefs. 


SECOND  IN8CRIFTION9 

In  a  Cave  behind  Nagarjenu 

.  •  «     ■  > 

THE  aufpicious  Sree  Yanja  Varma^  whofc  mover 
ment  was  as  the  fportive  elephant's  in  the  fea^ 
45  fbn  of  lufl,  WAS  like  Manoo  *,  the  appointer  of  the 
military  flation  of  ^11  the  chiefs  of  the  earth  :  —  by 
whofe  divine  ofierings,  the  God  with  a  thoufand 
eyes  -f*  being  conflantly  invited,  the  emaciated  Pow- 
hmeeX^  for  a  longtime,  fullied  the  beauty  of  her 
:s  with  falling  tears. 


2.  Atlanta  Vurma  by  name,  the  friend  of  fbrangcrs, 
renowned  in  the  world  m  the  character  of  valour,  by 
nature  immaculate  as  the  lunar  beams,  and  who  is  the 
dffspring  of  8re&  Sardoola  .-^^Hj  him  this  wonderful 
Hatue  of  Bhootapatee  and  oi'Devee\{^  the  Maker  of 
all  things  vifible  and  invifible  and  the  granter  of  boons, 
which  hath  taken  fanftukrv  in  this  cave,  was  caufed 
to  be  made.     May  it  protedt  the  upiverfe  \ 


*  The  firft  legiflator  of  the  HiW«j. 
t  Eendra  a  deification  of  the  Heavens* 
J  The  wife  of  Eendra. 

II  Seen>a^  or  Mahadeva  and  bis  cqofort  in  one  image,  at  a  type 

.of  the  deities,  Gtnitor  and  Genitris9, 


THE  VINDHYA  MOUNTAINS.  169 

5.  The  ftring  of  his  expanded  bow,  chained  with 
arrows  and  drawn  to  the  extremity  of  the  moulder, 
burfteth  the  circle'^  centre.  Of  fpacious  brow,  pro* 
pitious  diflindion,  and  fnrpafling  beauty,  he  is  the 
image  of  the  moon  with  an  undiminifhed  countenance; 
Jnanta  Varma  to  the  end !  Of  form  like  Smara  ^  in 
cxiftence,  he  is  feen  with  the  conftant  and  aSe&ionate 
ftanding  with  their  tender  and  faicinated  eyes  con- 
\     ilantly  fixed  upon  him. 

4*  From  the  machine  his  bow,  reproacher  of  the 
crying  Koorara  -f ,  bent  to  the  extreme,  he  is  endued 
with  force ;  from  his  expanded  virtue  he  is  ft  pnovo* 
ker ;  by  his  good  conduct  his  renown  reacheth  to  afar  j 
.  he  is  a  hero  by  whofe  courfing  deeds  the  elephant  is 
diflurbed,  and  a  youth  who  is  the  feat  of  forrow  to 
the  women  of  his  foes.  He  is  the  diredtor ;  and  his 
name  is  Ananta  X. 


mm 
f 


*  The  Hindoo  Cufii. 

t  A  bird  that  is  con(lantly  making  a  noift  l)efeffie  rain. 

X  This  word  fignifics  ttcmal  or  infitiu. 


■^ 


»-• 


« 


XI. 


A  DESCRIPTiDN  OF  ASAIH, 

BY    MOHAMMED   CAZIM. 

Tranjlated  from  the  Ferftan^  hy  Henry  Vanjitttirt^  Efq} 


A  SAM,  which  lies  to  the  rtorth-eaft  of  B^;;^^/,  is 
divided  into  two  parts  by  the  river  Brahmaputra^ 
that  flows  from  Khata  The  northern  portion  is  cal- 
led VttarcuU  and  the  fouthern  Dacjh'mcul.  UUarcut 
begins  at  Gowahutty^  which  is  the  boundary  of  his 
Majelly*s  territorial  pofleflions,  and  terminates-  in 
mountains  inhabited  by  a  tribe  called  Meeri  MechmL 
Dacjh'tncul  extends  from  the  village  Sidea  to  the  hills 
of  Slrimgcir.  The  moft  famous  mountains  to  the  north- 
ward of  Uttarcul^  are  thofe  of  Duleh  and  Landah^ 
and  to  the  fouthward  of  Dacjhincul  are  thofe  of  Nam^ 
rupy  (Camrup?)  fuuated  four  days  journey  above 
Giiergongy  to  which  the  Raja  retreated.  There  is 
another  chain  of  hills,  which  is  inhabited  by  *%  tribe 
called  Mamic^  who  pay  no  revenue  to  the  Rajay  but 
profefs  allegiance  to  him,  and  Qbey  a  few  of  hisorders^ 
But  the  -f-  Zemleh  tribe  are  entirely  independf^  of 
him ;  and,  whenever  they  find  an  opportunity,  plan- 
der  the  country  contiguous  to  their  mountains.  Afam 
is  of  an  oblong  figure ;  its  length  aboui^oo  ftandard 
cofs,  and  its  breadth,  from  the  nortl^rn  to  the 
fouthern  mountains,-about  eight  days  journey.     From 


<»> 


.^ 


*  This  account  of  ^w  wa«  -  tranflatcd  for  the.Society,  but 
afterwards  printed  by  the  learned  tranflator  as  an  appendix  to  his 
Adkmgimamab»  It  is  reprinted  here,  becaufc  our^^vernmenf 
has  an  interefl  in  being  as  well  acquainted  as  poflible  with  all  thfii 
Aitiona  bordering  on  the  Britiih  territories. 
^  t  In  another  copy,  this  tribe  are  called  Dt^b. 


172  A   DESCRIPTION 

Gowahuttyi  to  Ghergong  arc  feventy-fivc  llandard  cofs  : 
and  from  thence  it  is  fifteen  days  journey  to  Khoten^ 
which  was  the  rcfidcncc  of  Pecran  IVifeh*^  but  is 
now  called  Ava  -f ,  and  is  the  capital  of  the  Raja  of 
PegUy  who  confiders  himfelf  of  the  pofterity  of  that 
laiROUs  Cjcneral.  Thefirft  five  days  journey  from  the 
ipounixiins  of  Camrtipj  is  performed  through  forefts, 
zn^  over  hills,  which  are  arduous  and  difficult  topafs. 
You  then  travel  eaftward  to  Ava  through  a  level 
and  fmooih  countr}\  To  the  northward  is  the  plain 
of  KhatOy  that  has  been  before  mentioned  as  the 
place  from  whence  the  Brahmaputra  ifliies,  which  is 
afterwards  fed  by  feveral  rivers  that  flow  from  the 
iouthern  mountains  o{  A/am.  The  principal  of  thcfc 
is  the  Dhonee^  which  has  before  occurred  in  this  hif- 
cory :  it  joins  that  broad  river  at  the  village  Lucki* 
gereh. 

Between '  thefe  rivers  is  an  ifland  well  inhabited^ 
and  in  an  excellent  ftace  of  tillage.  Ft  contains  a  fpai* 
cious>  clear,  and  pleafant  country,  extending  to  the 
diftance  of  about  fifty  cofs.  The  cultivated  trad  is 
bounded  by  a  thick  foreft,  which  harbours  elephants, 
and  where  thofe  animals  may  be  caught,  as  well  as 
in  four  or  five  other  forefts  of  A/am.  If  there  be  oc- 
cafion  for  them,  five  or  fix  hundred  elephants  may  be 
procured  in  a  year,  Acrofs  the  DJionec,  which  is  the 
fide  of  Ghergcngy  is  a  wide,  agreeable,  and  level 
country,  which  delights  the  heart  of  the  beholder. 
The  whole  fece  of  it  is  marked  with  population  and 
tillage ;  and  it  prefents  on  every  fide  charming  prof- 


*  Acco:dine-to  K^onJcmirt  Peer  an  Ivifih  was  one  of  the  Dobles 
of  Afrjijtab^  King  of  Turan^  contemporary  with  Kaicausy  fecond 
Prince  of  the  Kianlan  i\yi\A^y,  In  \\\tFcrhung  Jehangeeryznd 
B&rbauM  Kaua  (t^vo  Perlian  Dictionaries)  Peeran  is  defcril)ed  as 
ood  of  the  FeUavam  or  heroes  or  Turan^  and  General  under  Afra- 
JUt  the  name  of  whofe  father  was  Wijch. 

t  This  is  a  palpiblc  niiflake.  Khoten  lies  to  the  north  of  Him^ 
Milsya  ;  «r\d  Piran  n/ab  could  never  hive  feen  Ava* 


OF    ASAM.  173 

pefts    of  ploughed  fields,,  harvcfts,    gardens,    and 
groves.     All  the  ifland  before  defcribed  lies  in  Dac^ 
JhincuL     From  the  village  Sahgereh  to  the  city  of 
Ghergong  is  a  fpace  of  about  fifty  cofs,  filled  with 
fuch  an  uninterrupted  range  of  gardens,  plentifully 
(locked  with  fruit-trees,  that  it  appears  as  one  garden^ 
Within  them  are  the  houfes  of  the  peaiants,  and  a 
beautiful  aflemblage  of  coloured  and  fragrant  herbs, 
I     and  of  garden  and  wild  flowers  blowing  together. 
As  the  country  is  overflowed  in  the  rainy  feafon,  a  high 
and   broad  caufeway  has  been  raifed  for  the  conveai* 
cncc  of  travellers  from  SaJagereh  to  Ghergong^  which  is 
the  only  uncultivated  ground  that  is  to  be  feen.    Each 
£de  of  this  road  is  planted  with  fhady  bamboos,  th^ 
tops  of  which  meet,  and  are  intertwined.     Amongft 
the  fruits  which  this  country  produces,  are  mangoes, 
plantains,  jacks,  oranges,  citrons,  limes,  pine-apples, 
and  pumaJehy  a  fpecies  of  amleh^  which  has  fuch  an 
excellent  flavour,  that  every  perfon  who  tailes  it  pre- 
fers it  to  the  plum.     There  are  alfo  cocoa-nut  trees, 
pepper-vines,  Areca  trees,  and  the  Sadij  *,  in  great 
plenty.     The  fugar-cane  excels  in  fbftnefs  and  fweet- 
nefs,  and  is  of  three  colours,  red,  black,  aad  white. 
There  isginger  free  from  fibres,  and  betel-vineS,  The 
ftrength   of  vegetation   and  fertility  of  the  foil  are 
fuch,  that  whatever  feed  i^  fown,  or  flips  planted, 
they  always  thrive.     The  environs  of  Ghergong  fur- 
iiifli  fmall  apricots,  yams,  and  pomegranates ;  but  as 
thefc  articles  are  wild,  and  not  aflifled  by  cultivation 
and    engraftmcnt,  they   are  very  indiflcrcnt.      The 
principal  crop  of  this  country  confifls  in  rice  and 
\majh.  Ades  is  very  fcarce  5  and  wheat  and  barley  arc 
never  fown.     The  filks  are  excellent,  and  refemble 

*  The  Sadij  is  a  long  aromatic  leaf,  1%  hich  has  a  pungent  ta(l«>, 
aad  U  called  in  Sanfirit,  TejafHra.  In  our  botanical  boakt  it  bears 
the  name  of  Malahathrum^  or  the  Indton  Leaf. 

f  M0jh  \%  a  fpecies  of  grain^  and  AJu  a  kind  of  pei* 


^ 


«74  A    DESCRIPTION 

thofe  of  CMna ;  but  they  manufafture  very  few  more 
than  are  required  for  ufe.  They  are  fuccefsfbl  in 
embroidering  with  flowers,  and  in  weaving  velvet 
and  fauthutidj  which  is  a  fpecies  of  filk  of  which  they 
make  tents  and  ^  ienauts*  Salt  is  a  very  precious 
and  fcarce  commodity ;  it  is  found  at  the  bottom  of 
fome  of  the  hills,  but  of  a  bitter  and  pungent  quality* 
A  better  fort  is  in  common,  which  is  extrafted  from 
the  plantain-tree.  The  mountains  inhabited  by  the 
tribe  called  Xianac^  produce  plenty  of  excellent  Lig^ 
nam  Aloes^  which  a  fociety  of  the  natives  import 
every  year  into  AJamy  and  barter  for  fait  and  grain. 
This  cvil-difpofed  race  of  mountaineers  are  many  de* 
grees  removed  from  the  line  of  humanity,  and  deflitute 
of  the  charafteriftical  properties  of  a  man.  They  go 
caked  from  head  to  foot,  and  eat  dogs,  cats,  fnakes, 
mice,  rats»  ants,  locufts,  and  every  thing  of  this  (brt 
which  they  can  find.  The  hills  of  Camrufy  Sidea^ 
and  LucKgerehy  fupply  a  fine  fpecies  oi  Lignum  jfloes^ 
which  finks  in  water.  Several  of  the  mountains  con- 
tain mufk-deer. 

The  country  of  Unarcuh  which  is  on  the  northerft 
fide  of  the  Brahmaputra^  is  in  the  higheft  ftate  of 
cultivation,  and  produces  plenty  of  pepper  and  Art'^ 
^dr-nuts»  It  even  furpaffes  DacJ/nncul  in  population 
and  tillage ;  but,  as  the  latter  contains  a  greatef 
traft  of  wild  forefts,  and  places  difficult  of  accefs, 
the  rulers  of  A/am  have  chofen  to  refide  in  it  for  the ' 
convenience  of  control,  and  have  erefted  in  it  the 
capital  of  the  kingdom.  The  breadth  of  Uftarcul^ 
fiom  the  banks  of  the  river  to  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains, which  is  a  cold  climate,  and  contains  fnow,  is 
various;  but  is  nowhere  lefs  than  fifteen  cofs,.  nor 
more  than  forty-five  cofs.    The  inhabitants  of  thoie 


■%  ■■ 


Kenanu  are  walls  made  tp  furround  teats^ 


OV    ASAM.  175 

mountains  are  ftrong,  have  a  robuft  and  refpeftable 
appearance,  and  are  of  the  middling  fize.  Their  com- 
plexions, like  thofe  of  the  natives  of  all  cold  climates, 
are  red  and  white ;  and  they  have  alfo  trees  and  fruits 
peculiar  to  frigid  regions.  Near  the  fort  of  Jam 
Derehj  which  is  on  the  fide  of  Gowahuttyy  is  a  chain 
of  mountains,  called  the  country  of  Dereng  i  all  the 
inhabitants  of  which  refemble  each  other  m  appear- 
ance, manners,  and  fpeech,  but  they  are  diftinguifh- 
'  cd  by  the  names  of  their  tribes,  and  places  of  refi- 
dcnce.  Several  of  thefe  hills  produce  mufk,  katatis^y 
hhoat  -f*,  ferecy  and  two  fpecies  of  horfes,  called  goon^ 
and  tanyans.  Gold  and  filver  are  procured  here,  as  in 
the  whole  country  of  A/am^  by  wafhing  the  (and  of  the 
rivers.  This,  indeed,  is  one  of  the  fources  of  revenue. 
It  is  fuppofed  that  12,000  inhabitants,  and  fome  fay 
10,000,  are  employed  in  this  occupation  ;  and  it  is  a 
regulation,  that  each  of  the&  perfons  (hall  pay  a  fixed 
revenue  of  a  tola  %  of  gold  to  the  Raja.  The  peo- 
ple of  jifam  are  a  bafe  and  unprincipled  nation,  and 
have  no  fixed  religion.  They  follow  no  rule  but  that 
of  their  own  inclinations^  and  make  the  approbation 
of  their  own  vicious  minds  the  teft  of  the  propriety 
of  their  aftions.  They  do  not  adopt  any  mode  of 
worfliip  praftifed  either  by  Heathens  or  Mohammedans  ; 
nor  do  they  concur  with  any  of  the  known  fefts  which 
prevail  amongft  mankind.  Unlike  the  Pagans  of 
Hindiiftany  they  do  not  rejedl  victuals  which  have  been 
drelTed  by  Mufehians ;  and  they  abttain  from  no  flelh 


•  Katausisthus  defcribed  in  the  Bor^aun  Katea :  "  This  word, 
*'  in  theUnguage  of  Rmmi  is  a  fea-cow  ;  the  tail  of  which  is  hung 
**  upon  the  necks  of  horfes,  and  on  the  fummits  of  (laodardss 
**  Some  fay  that  it  is  a  cow  which  lives  in  the  nnonntains  of 
**  Khata.**  It  here  means  the  mountain -cow,  which  fiipplies  the 
tail  that  is  made  into  cbowries  ;  and  in  San/crit  \%.Q9^iXidcbamars, 

t  Bhoat  and  peree  are  two  kinds  of  blanket* 

X  Eighty  r^/i-wcights.     Seepage  154,  note. 


176  A    I>£SCRIPTIOK 

exicept  human.  They  even  eat  animals  that  have  died 
a  natural  death ;  but,  in  confequence  of  not  being 
ufed  to  the  tafte  of  ghee^  they  have  fuch  an  antipa- 
thy to  this  article,  that  if  they  difcover  the  lead 
fmell  of  it  in  their  viftuals,  they  h^ve  no  reliQi  for 
them.  It  is  not  their  cuftom  to  veil  their  women  ^ 
for  even  the  wives  of  the  Raja  do  not  conceal  their 
faces  from  any  perfon.  The  females  perform  work 
in  the  open  air,  with  their  countenances  expofed  and 
heads  uncovered.  The  men  have  often  four  or  five 
wives  each,  and  publicly  buy,  fell,  and  change  them. 
They  (have  their  heads,  beards,  and  whifkefs,  and 
reproach  and  admoni(h  every  perfon  who  negle£ts  this 
ceremony..  Their  language  has  not  the  leafl  affinity 
with  that  of  Bengal  ^.  Their  ftrength  and  courage 
are  apparent  in  their  looks ;  but  their  ferocious  man- 
ners and  brutal  tempers  are  alfo  betrayed  by  their 
phyfiognomy.  They  are  fuperior  to  moft  nations  in 
corporal  force  and  hardy  exertions.  They  are  enter- 
prizing,  favage,  fond  of  war,  vindiftive,  treacherous, 
and  deceitful.  The  virtues  of  compaffion,  kindnefe, 
friendfliip,  Cncerity,  truth,  honour,  good  faith, 
fhame,  and  purity  of  morals,  have  been  left  out  of 
their  compofuion.  The  feeds  of  tendernefs  and  hu- 
manity have  not  been  fown  in  the  field  of  their  fraii^es* 
As  they  are  deftitute  of  the  mental  garb  of  manly  qua- 
lities, they  are  alfo  deficient  in  the  drefs  ot  their  bodies. 
They  tie  a  cloth  round  ihcir  heads,  and  another  round 
their  loins,  and  throw  a  iheet  upon  their  flioulder  j 
but  it  is  not  cuftomary  in  that  country  to  wear  turbans, 
robes,  drawers,  or  Iboes.  There  are  no  buildings  of 
brick  orftone,  or  with  walls  of  earth,  except  the  gates 
of  the  city  of  Ghergong^  and  fomc  of  their  idolatrous 
temples.     The  rich  and  poor  conflrucl  their  habita-* 


*  This  is  an  er/or :  young  Brahmens  often  come  from  A/am  t6 
Jf^di^a  for  innrud^iou}  and  iheir  vulvar  ciialect  is  underflood  by 
the  Bengal  teachers < 


OF  At  AM.  i'jf 

tions  of  W06d,  bartibbos,  and  ftmw.  The  Raja  and 
his  couniers  travel  in  (lately  litters;  but  the  opulent 
and  refpeftable  perfons  amongft  his  fubjcfts  are  car- 
ried^in  lower  vehicles,  called  doolies.  Jfam  produces 
neither  borfes  *,  camels,  nor  affes ;  but  thofe  cattle  are 
fometiittes  brought  thither  from  other  countries.  The 
brutal  inhabitants,  from  a  congenial  impulfe,  are  fond 
of  feeing  and  keeping  afles,  and  buy  and  fell  them  at  a 
\  hi^  price ;  but  they  difcover  the  greateft  furprize  as 
ieetug  dr  camel  -^  and  are  fo  afraid  of  a  horfe,  that  if 
one  trooper  (hould  attack  a  hundred  armed  Afamians^ 
they  would  all  throw  down  their  arms  and  flee ;  or, 
fliould  they  not  be  able  to  efcape,  they  would  furren- 
der  thertifelves  prifoners.  Yet,  (hould  one  of  that 
detectable  race  encounter  two  men  of  another  natioii 
OA  ioQ^^  he  would  defeat  them. 

The  ancient  inhabitants  of  this  country  are  divided 
into  two  tribes,    the   Afamans  and  the  Cuhanians. 
The  latter  excel  the  former  in  all  occupations  except 
vrar  and  the  conduft  of  hardy  enterprizes,  in  which 
the  former  are  fuperior.  A  body-guard  of  fix  or  feven 
.  thoufand  Afamians^  fierce   as  demons,  of  ua(haken 
courage,  and  well  provided  with  warlike  arms  and  ac- 
coutrements, always  keep  watch  near  the  Rajah  fitting 
and  fleeping  apartments;  thefe  are  his  loyal  and  confi- 
dential troops  and  patrol.     1  he  martial  \^eapons  of 
this  country  are  the  mu(quet,  fword,  fpear,  and  arrow 
and  bow  of  baniboo.     In  their  forts  and  boats  they 
have alfo  plenty  of  cannon,  zerbzen  ^»  and  ramchangee ; 
in  the  management  of  which  they  are  very  expert. 


♦  As  the  author  has  aflerted  that  two  ifccies  of  horfes,  called 
f—nt  and  tanyans^  are  produced  in  Dereng^  we  muft  fuppofe  that 
this  is  a  different  country  from  Afam^ 

f  Swivels, 


f  7?  A  DESCRIPTION 

Whenever  any  of  the  Rajahs^  magiftrates,  or  prin- 
cipal men  die,  they  dig  a  large  cave  for  the  decealed» 
in  which  they  inter  his  women,  attendants,  and  (er-i 
yants,  and  fome  of  the  magnificent  equipage  and  ufeful 
furniture  which  he  poffeffed  in  his  life-time ;  fuch  as 
elephants,  gold  and  filver,  ladcajh  (large  fans)  car- 
pets, clothes,  vi(5tuals,  lamps,  with  a  great  deal  of  oil» 
and  a  torch-bearer  j  for  they  confider  thefe  articles 
as  (lores  for  a  future  ftate.  They  afterwards  conftnift 
a  ftrong  roof  over  the  cave  upon  thick  timben. 
The  people  of  the  army  entered  fome  of  the  old 
caves,  and  took  out  of  them  the  value  of  90,000  rupees» 
in  gold  and  filver.  But  an  extraordinary  circum- 
ftance  is  faid  to  have  happened,  to  which  the  mind  of 
pian  can  fci.i  cely  give  credit,  and  the  probability  of 
which  is  contradided  by  daily  experience.  It  is  this: 
All  the  nobles  came  to  the  imperial  general  and  dc« 
(rlared,  with  qniverfal  agreement,  that  a  golden  betel- 
fland  was  found  in  one  of  the  caves  that  was  dug 
eighty  years  before,  which  contained  betel-leaf  quite 
green  and  frefh  :  but  the  authenticity  of  this  ftory 
lefts  uppn  report. 

Ghergong  has  four  gates,  conflruded  of  ftone  and 
earth ;  from  each  of  which  the  Raja's  pabce  is  dif- 
tant  three  cofs.  The  city  is  encompaffed  with  a  fence 
of  bamboos ;  and  within  it  high  and  broad  caufeways 
have  been  raifed  for  the  convenience  of  paflengers 
during  the  rainy  feafon.  In  the  front  of  every  man's 
houfe  is  a  garden,  or  fome  cultivated  ground.  This 
is  a  fortified  city,  which  enclofcs  villages  and  tilled 
fields.  The  Bt.ja's  palace  ftands  upon  the  bank  of 
the  Degoo,  which  flows  throughout  the  city.  This' 
rjver  is  lined  on  each  fide  with  houfes ;  and  there  is  a 
fmall  market,  v/hich  contains  no  (hopkeepers  except 
fellers  of  betLl.  The  reafon  is,  that  it  is  not  cuftomary 
for  the  inhabitants  to  buy  provifions  for  daily  ufe,  bc- 
caufe  they  lay  up  a  ftock  for  themfelves,  which  laft$ 


OF  ASAM.  179 

them  a  year.  The  Rajah  palace  is  furrounded  by  a 
caufeway,  planted  on  each  fide  with  a  clofe  hedge  of 
bamboos,  which  ferves  inflead  of  a  wall.  On  the 
outfide  there  is  a  difcTi,  which  is  always  full  of  water. 
The  circumference  of  the  enclofure  is  one  cofs  and 
fourteen  jerebs.  Within  it  have  been  built  lofty 
halls  and  fpacious  apartments  for  the  Raja^  moft  of 
then^  of  wood,  and  a  few  of  ftraw,  which  are  called 
fhufpers.  Amongft  thefe  is  a  dtwan  khanahy  or  pub- 
lic ialoon,  one  hundred  and  fifty  cubits  long,  and 
forty  broad,  which  is  fupported  by  fixty-fix  wooden 
pillars,  placed  at  an  interval  of  about  four  cubits  fron^ 
each  other.  The  Rajah  feat  is  adorned  with  lattice- 
work and  carving.  Within  and  without  have  been 
placed  plates  of  brafs,  fo  well  poliQied,  that  when  the 
rays  of  the  fun  ftrike  upon  them,  they  (hine  like  mir- 
rors. It  is  an  afcertained  faft,  that  3Q00  carpenters 
and  1200  labourers  were  conftantly  employed  on  this 
werky  during  two  years  before  it  was  finilhed.  When: 
the  Raja  fits  in  this  chamber,  or  travels,  inftead  of 
drums  and  trumpets,  they  beat  the  *  dhol  and  dandm 
The  latter  is  a  round  thick  inftrument  made  of  cop-* 
per,  and  is  certainly  the  {kme  as  the  drum«f^»  which  it 
was  cuflomary,  in  the  time  of  the  anciei\t^  kings,  to 
beat  in  battles  and  marches, 

The  Rajas  of  this  country  have  always  raifcd  the 
creft  of  pride  and  vainglory,  and  difjplayed  a^n  often- 
tatious  appearance  of  grandeur,  and  a  numerous  train 
of  attendants  and  fervants.  They  have  not  bowed 
the  head  of  fubmiffion  and  obedience,  nor  have  they 
paid  tribute  or  revenue  to  the  moft  powerful  mo- 
narch ;    but  they  have  curbed  the    ambition,   and 


1 


*  The  dbol  is  a  kind  of  drum,  which  is  beaten  at  each  end. 

t  This  is  a  kind  of  kcttle*dium,  and  11  made  of  a  conr>pofitiQf\ 
^f^cralmctajis^ 

N3V 


l8o  A  DESCRIPTION 

checked  the  conquefts,  of  the  moft  viAorious  prin-^ 
€e5^  of  Hifuitifian.  '  The  folution  of  the  difHculties 
attending  a  war  againO:  them^  has  baffled  the  pene- 
tration of  heroes  who  have  been  ftiled  Conquerors 
of  the  World.  Whenever  an  invading  army  has  en- 
tered their  territories,  the  jifa^niam  have  covered 
themfelves  in  ftrong  pofts,  and  have  diftrefled  the 
enemy  by  ftratagems,  furprifes,  and  alarms,  and  by 
cutting  off  their  provifions.  If  thefe  means  have 
failed,  they  have  declined  a  battle  in  the  field,  but 
have  carried  the  peafants  into  the  mountains,  burnt 
the  grain,  and  left  the  country  empfy.  But  wbea 
the  rainy  feafon  has  fee  in  upon  the  advancing  enemy,, 
they  have  watched  their  opportunity  to  make  excur- 
sions, and  vent  their  rage^  the  famiflbed  invaders, 
have  either  become  their  pi;ifoners,  or  been  put  to, 
death.  In  this  manner  powerful  and  numerous  armies 
have  been  funk  in  that  whirlpool  of  deftrudion,  and 
not  a^ibul  has  efcaped.  ^  ^ 

Fownerly  Hitfain  Shahy  a  king  of  Bengal^  under*- 
took  an  expedition  againft  Afanu  and  carried  with 
him  a  formidable  force  in  cavalry,  infantry,  and  boat^* 
The  beginning  of  this  invafion  was  crowned  with 
viftory.  He  entered  the  country,  and  erefted  the 
flandard  of  fuperiority  and  conqueft.  The  Raja 
being  unable  to  encounter  him  in  the  field,  evacuated 
the  plains,  and  retreated  to  the  mountains.  Hufain 
left  his  fon,  with  a  large  army,  to  keep  pofleffion  of 
the  country,  and  returned  to  Bengal.  The  rainy 
feafon  commenced,  and  the  roads  were  (hut  up  by 
inundation*  The  Raja  defcended  from  the  moun- 
ti^ins,  furrounded  the  Bengal  army,  fkirmifhed  with 
th^m,  and  cut  off  their  provifions,  till  they  were  re- 
duced- to  fucb  ftraits,  that  they  were  all,  in  a  Ihorf 
time,  either  killed  on  made  prifoners. 


of  ASAM*  l8t 

In  the  fame  manner  Mohammed  Shah^  the  fon  of 
Togluc  Shah^  who  was  king  of  fevcral  of  the  pr6vin- 
ces  of  Hlndufian^  fent  a  well-appoinced  army  of  aii 
hundred  thoufand  cavalry  to  conquer  Afam-y  but 
they  were  all  devoted  to  oblivion  in  that  country  of 
enchantment ;  and  no  intelligence  or  veftige  of  them 
remained.  Another  army  was  difpatched  to  revenge 
this  difafter ;  but  when  they  arrived  in  Bengal^  they 
were  panic-ftruck,  and  fhrunk  from  the  emefprize ; 
becaufe  if  any  perfon  paffes  the  f.ontier  into  that 
diftria,  he  has  ;iot  leave  to  return.  In  the  fame 
manner,  none  of  the  inhabitants  of  that  country  are 
able  to  come  out  of  it ;  which  is  the  reafon  that  no 
accurate  information  has  hitherto  been  obtained  re- 
lative to  that  nation.  The  natives  of  Hindtiftan  con- 
fider  them  as  wizards  and  magicians,  and  pronounce 
the  name  of  that  country  in  all  their  incantations  and 
counter-charms.  They  fay  that  every  perfon  who 
fetJ  his  foot  there,  is  under  the  influence  of  witch* 
crafty  and  cannot  find  the  road  to  return. 

Jeidej  Singly  the  Raja  of  Afcan^  bears  the  title  of 
Swergiy  or  veleftiaL  Swerj^y  in  the  Hinduftani  lait* 
guage,  means  heaven.  Ihat  frantic  and  vainglo* 
fious  prince  is  fo  eitceflively  fooli&  and  miflaken^ 
as  to^  believe  that  his  vicious  anceftors  were  fovereigns 
of  the  heavenly  hoft ;  and  that  one  of  them,  bfeing 
inclined  to  vifit  the  earth,  defcended  by  a  golden 
ladder.  After  he  had  been  employed  fome  time  in 
regulating  and  governing  his  new  kingdoms,  he  be- 
came fo  attached  to  it^ahat  he  fixed  nis  abode  in  it, 
tod  never  returned,  *^ 

In  (hort,  when  we  confidet  the  peculiar  circum»» 
ftances  of  A/am  ;  that  the  country  is  fpacious,  popu- 


*     !■ 


*  Properly  Jayadbvuija  Siitba,  or  tl^  Lin  wiib  b*im*ri  cfcon* 
^  N3 


iBz  A    DESCRIPTIOIT 

lous,  and  hard  to  be  penetrated ;  that  it  abounds  in 
perils  and  dangers;  that  the  paths  and  roads  are 
befet  with  difficulties  ;  that  the  obftacles  to  the  con- 
queft  of  it  are  more  than  can  be  defcribed ;  that  the 
inhabitants  are  a  fava^e  race,  ferocious  in  their  man* 
ners,  and  brutal  in  their  behaviour ;  that  they  are  of  a 
gigantic  appearance,  enterprifing,  intrepid,  treacherous, 
well  armed,  and  more  numerous  than  can  be  conceiv- 
ed ;  that  they  refill  and  attack  the  enemy  from  fecurc 
pofts,  and  arc  always  prepared  for  battle ,  that  they 
poffefs  forts  as  high  as  heaven,  garrifoned  by  brave 
foldiers,  and  plentifully  fupplied  with  warlike  ftorcs, 
the  reduftion  of  each  of  which  would  require  a  long 
fpace  of  time ;  that  the  way  was  obftrudled  by  thick 
and  dangerous  bulhes,  and  broad  and  boifterous  ri- 
vers : .  when  we  confider  thefe  circumftances,  we  (hall 
wonder  that  this  country,  by  the  aid  of  God,  and  the 
aufpices  of  his  Majefty,  was  conquered  by  the  im- 
perial ^army ,  and  became  a  place  for  erefting  the  ftto- 
dard  of  the  faith.  The  haughty  and  infolent  heads 
of  feveral  of  the  deteftable  jijainians,  who  ftretcb  the 
neck  of  pride,  and  who  are  devoid  of  religion  and 
jei;note  from  God^  were  bruifed  by  the  hoofs  of  ^  the 
horfes  of  the  vidtorious  warriors.  The  Mujfelihan 
heroes  experienced  the  comfort  of  fighting  for  their 
religion ;  and  the  bleffings  of  it  reverted  to  the  fo* 
vereignty  of  his  juft  and  pious  Majefty. 

The  Raja^  whofe  foul  had  been  enilaved  by  pride, 
who  had  been  bred  up  in  the  habit  of  prefuming  on 
the  ftabifity  of  his  own  government,  never  dreamt 
of  this  reverfe  of  fortune ;  but  being  now  overtaken 
by  the  punifhment  due  to  his  crimes,  fled,  as  ha§ 
been  before  mentioned,  with  fome  of  his  nobles,  at- 
tendants, and  family,  and  a  few  of  his  effefts,  to  the 
mountains  of  Camrup.  That  fpot,  by  its  bad  air  and 
water,  and  confined  fpace,  is  rendered  the  worll  place 
in  the  world,  or  rather,  it  is  in  one  of  the  pits  of  hell| 


bt  asam;  •  183 

Th'e  Rajahs  ofiicers  and  folders,  by  his  orders,  erofled 
the  Dhonec,  and  fetded  in  the  fpacious  ifland  between 
that  and  the  Brahmaputra^  which  contains  numerous 
fbrefts  and  thickets,  A  few  took  refuge  in  othet 
mountains,  and  watched  ah  oppi^rtunity  of  commit-^ 
ting  hoftilities. 

CatftHtp  is  k  couhtry  on  the  fide  of  DacJhincuJ; 
fituated  between  three  high  mountains,  at  the  diftancc 
of  four  days  journey  from  Ghergong.  It  is  remark- 
able for  bad  water,  noxious  air,  and  confined  prof- 
pefts.  Whenever  the  Raja  ufed  to  be  angry  With 
any  of  his  fubjedVs,  he  fent  them  thither.  The  roadS 
are  difficult  to  pafs,  infomuch  that  a  foot-traveller 
proceeds  with  the  greateft  inconvenience.  There  is 
one  road  wide  enough  for  a  horfe ;  but  the  beginning 
of  it  contains  thick  forefts  for  about  half  a  cofs. 
Afterwards  there  is  a  defile,  which  is  ftony  and  full 
of ,  water.  On  each  fide  is  a  mountain  towering  td 
the  iky* 

The  Imperial  General  remained  fotTie  days  in  Gher* 
gongj  where  he  was  employed  in  regulating  the  af- 
feirS  of  the  country,-  encouraging  the  peafants,  and 
Collcdingj  the  efFcfts  of  the  Raja.  He  repeatedly 
lead  the  Khotbeh,  or  prayer,  containing  the  namd 
and  title  of  the  Prince  of  the  Age,  King  of  Kingsi 
Alemgeer^  Conqueror  of  the  World ;  and  adorned  the 
,  face§  of  the  coins  with  the  imperial  impreflibn.  At 
this  time  there  were  heavy  fhowtrs,  accompanied  with 
violent  wind,  for  two  or  three  days ;  ahd  all  thd 
iigns  appeared  of  the  rainy  fcafon, ,  which  in  that 
countfy  fets  in  before  it  docs  in  Hindtljlan.  TJie 
General  exerted  himfelf  in  eftabliftiing  poft§,  and 
fixing  guards,  for  keeping  open  the  roads  and  fup-* 
plying  the  army  with  provifions.  He  thought  now 
of  fecuring  himfelf  during  the  rains,  and  determined, 
after  the  fky  (hould  be  cleared  ifrom  the  clouds^  the 

N4 


1^4  ^  DESCRIPTIOK 

lightning  ceafe  to  illuminate  the  air.  and  the  fweUiAg.. 
or  the  water  fliould  fubfide,  that  the  army  (bould 
ligain  be  fet  in  motion  againft  the  Raj0  and  his  attend* 
^ntSy  and  be  employed  in  delivering  the  country  from 
the  evil$  of  their  exiftence. 

The  author  then  mentions  feveral  fkirmiflies, 
which  happened  between  the  Rajahs  forces  and  the 
Imperiiil  troops ;  in  which  the  latter  were  always  vic- 
torious*   He  concludes  thus : 

•*  At  length  all  the  villages  of  Dacjhincul itW  into  the 
pofleflion  of  the  Imperial  army.  Several  of  the  in* 
habitants  and  pea(ants,  from^tbe  diffufion  of  the  fame 
of  his  Majefty's  kindnefs,  tendernefs,  and  juflice, 
fubmitted  to  his  government,  and  were  proteded  in 
their  habitations  and  property.  The  inhabitants  of 
Uttercul  al{b  became  obedient  to  his  comn^ands« 
His  Majefly  rejoiced  when  be  heard  the  news  of  this 
conqueft,  and  rewarded  the  General  with  a  coftljr 
.  drefs,  and  other  diftinguiftiing  marks  of  his  favour?' 

iThe  narrative,  to  which  this  is  a  fupplement,  gives 
a  concife  hiftory  of  the  military  expedition  into  Afanu 
In  this  defcription  the  author  has  ilopt  at  a  period 
when  the  Imperial  troops  had  poffefled  themfelves  of 
the  capital,  and  were  mailers  of  any  part  of  the  plain 
country  which  they  chofe  to  occupy  or  over-run. 
The  fequel  diminiflies  the  credit  of  the  conqueft,  by 
fliowing  that  it  was  temporary,  and  that  the  Raja  did 
not  forget  his  ufual  policy  of  haraffing  the  invading, 
army  during  the  rainy  feafon  :  but  this  conduft  pro- 
duced only  the  efFed:  of  diftreffing  and  difgufting  it 
with  the  iervice,  inftead  of  abfolutely  deftroying  it, 
as  his  predeceffors  haddeftroyed  former  adventurers* 
Yet  the  conclufion  of  this  war  is  far  from  weaken- 
ing the  panegyric  which  the  author  has  pafled  upoa 
the  Imperial  Generaf,  to  whom  a  dificrence  of  fitua* 


OF    ASAM.  |85 

tion  afforded  an  opportunity  of  dlfplaylng  additional 
virtues,  and  of  clofing  that  life  with  heroic  fortitude 
which  he  had  always  hazarded  in  the  field  with  mar- 
tial fpirit.  His  name  and  titles  were,  Mir  Jumleh^ 
Moazzim  Khan^  Khani  Khanan^  Sipahi  Salar. 


REMARK. 

« 

The  preceding  account  of  the  jifamians^  who  are 
probably  fuperior  in  all  refpefts  to  iht  Moguls^  exhi- 
bits a  fpecimen  of  the  black  malignity  and  frantic  in- 
tolerance with  which  it  was  ufual,  in  the  reign  of 
Auravgzih^  to  treat  all  thofe  whom  the  crafty,  cruel, 
and  avaricious  emperor  was  pleafed  to  condemn  as 
infidels  aiid  barbarians* 


\    I 


XIL 

ON  THE  MANNERS,  RELIGION,  AND  L AITS 
OF  THE  CUCIS,  OR  MOUNTAINEERS 

OF  TIPRA. 

Communicated,  in  Perjian,  hy  John  Rawlins,  Bjq. 


*pHE  inhabitants  of  the  mountainous  diftridts  to 
the  eaft  of  Bengal  gave  the  name  of  Patiyan  to 
the  Being  who  created  the  univerfe;. but  they  be- 
lieve that  a  deity  exifts  in  every  tree,  that  the  fim 
and  moon  are  Gods,  and  that  whenever  they  worfliip 
Ihofe  fubordinate  divinities,  Patiydn  is  pleafed. 

If  any  one  among  them  put  another  to  death,  the 
chief  of  the  tribe,  or  other  perfons  who  bear  no 
relation  to  the  deceafed,  have  no  concern  in  punifb- 
ing  the  murderer ;  but,  if  the  murdered  perfon  has 
a  brother,  or  other  heir,  he  may  take  blood  ;  nor  has 
^ny  man  whatever  a  right  to  prevent  or  oppofe  fuch 
retaliation. 

When  a  man  is  detefted  in  the  commiflion  of  theft 
or  other  atrocious  offence,  the  chieftain  caufes  a  recom-  , 
penfe  to  be  given  to  the  complainant,  and  reconciles 
both  parties  ;  but  the  chief  himfelf  receives  a  cuftom- 
ary  fine  :  and  each  party  gives  a  feaft  of  pork,  or 
other  meat,  to  the  people  of  his  refpedive  tribe. 

In  ancient  times  it  was  not  a  cuftom  among  them  to 
Cut  off  the  heads  of  the  women  wiiom  they  found 
iii  the  habitations  of  their  enemies  j  but  it  happened 


l88  ON    THET  MOUKTAINEERt 

once  that  a  woman  afked  another  why  flie  came  fo 
late  to  her  bufinefs  of  fowing  grain  :  (lie  anfwered, 
that  her  hufband  was  gone  to  battle,  and  that  the 
neceffity  of  preparing  food  and  other  things  for  him 
had  occafioned  her  delay.  This  anfwer  was  overheard 
by  a  man  at  enmity  with  her  huiband  ;  and  he  was 
filled  with  refentment  againft  her,  confidering,  that, 
as  (he  had  prepared  food  for  her  hufband  for  the  pur- 
pofe  of  fending  him  to  battle  againft  his  tribe,  fb,  in 
general,-  if  women  were  not  to  remain  at  home,  their 
hufbands  could  not  be  lupplied  with  provifion,  and 
confequently  could  not  make  war  with  advantage. 
From  that;  time  it  became  a  conflant  practice  to  cut  off 
the  heads  of  the  enemy^s  women  ;  efpecially  if  they 
happen  to  be  pregnant,  and  therefore  confined  to  thcif 
houfes.  And  this  barbarity  is  carried  fo  far,  that  if  a 
Cud  afTail  the  houfe  of  an  enemy,  and  Kill  a  woman 
with  child,  fb  tliat  he  may  bring  two  heads,  he  ac** 
quires  honour  and  celebrity  in  his  tribe,  as  the  de- 
ftroycr  of  two  foes  at  once* 

As  to  the  marriages  of  this  wild  nation ;  when  a 
rich  man  has  made  a  contraft  of  marriage,  he  gives  four 
or  five  head  of  gayals  (the  cattle  of  the  mountains) 
to  the  father  and  mother  of  the  bride,  whom  he  car- 
ries to  his  own  houfe  :  her  parents  then  kill  the  gayals^ 
and,  having  prepared  fermented  liquors  and  boiled 
rice,  with  other  eatables,  invite  the  father,  mother, 
brethren,  and  kindred  of  the  bridegroom  to  a  nuptial 
enrenainment.  When  a  man  of  fmall  property  is  in- 
clined to  marry,  and  a  mutual  agreement  is  made,  a 
£milar  method  is  followed  in  a  lower  degree  :  and  a 
man  may  marry  any  woman,  except  his  own  mother. 
If  a  married  coupl^live  cordially  together,  and  have  a 
fon,  the  wife  is  fixed  and  irremovcable  j.  but,  if  they 
have  no  (on,  and  efpecially  if  they  live  together  oji  bad 
termSf  the  hufband  may  divorce  his  wife  and  many 
another  woman. 


Of    TIPRA.  189 

'The)y  have  no  idea  of  heaven  or  hell,  the  reward 
of  good,  or  the  puniCbmenc  of  bsd  adions ;  bucthef 
profefs  a  belief,  that  when  a  perfon  dies,  a  certain 
fpirit  comes  and  feizes  his  foul,  which  he  carries  away  ; 
and  that  whatever  the  fpirit  promifes  to  give  at  the 
iaftant  when  the  body  dies,  will  be  found  and  enjoyed 
by  the  dead  ;  but  that,  if  any  one  Ihould  take  up  the 
corfe  and  carry  it  off,  he  would  not  find  the  treafure. 

The  food  of  this  people  confifts  of  elephants, 
hogs>  deer,  and  other  animals  ;  of  which,  if  they  find 
the  carcafes  or  limbs  in  the  forefts,  they  dry  and 
eat  them  occafionally. 

When  they  have  refolved  on  war,  they  fend  fpies 
before  hoftilities  are  begun,  to  learn  the  ftations  and 
ftrength  of  the,  enemy,  and  the  condition  of  the  roads ; 
after  which  they  march  in  the  night ;  and  two  or  three 
hours  before  daylight,- make  a  fudden  aflault  with 
fwords,  lances,  and  arrows.    If  their  enemies  are  com- 
pelled  to  abandon   their   ftation,  the  aflailants   in- 
ftantly  put  to  death  all  the  males  and  females  who  are 
left  behind,  and  ftrip  the  houfes  of  all  th^ir  furniture  5 
but,  ftiould  their  ad verfaries,  having  gained  intelligence 
of  the  intended  aflault,  be  refolute  enough  to  meet 
them  in  battle,  and  (hould  they  find  themlelves  over- 
matched, they  fpeedily  retreat  and  quietly  return  to 
their  own  habitations.     If  at  any  time  they  fee  a  ftar 
very  near  the  moon,  they  fay,  **  to-night  we  fliallun-; 
**  doubted ly  be  attacked  by  fome  enemy  j"  and  they^ 
pafsthat  night  under  arms  with  extreme  vigilance,. 
They  often  lie  in  ambufli  in  a  foreft  near  the  path, 
where  their  foes  are  ufed  to  pafs  and  repafs,  waiting  for. 
die  enemy  with  different  forts  of  weapons,  and  killing 
^very  man  or  woman  who  happens  to  pafs  by.     In 
tljis  fituation,  if  a  leech,  or  a  vvonn,  or  a  fnake  Ihould 
bite  one  of  them,  he  bears  the. pain  in  perfed  filence; 


igo  ©N    THE     MOUNTAINEERS 

and  whoever  can  bring  home  the  head  of  an  enemy 
which  he  has  cut  off,  is  fure  to  be  diftinguiftied  and 
exalted  in  his  ftation.     When  two  hoftile  tribes  ap- 
pear  to  havd  equal  force  in  battle,  and  neither  has  hopes 
of  putting  the  other  to  flight,  they  make  a  fignal  of 
pacific  intentions,  and,   fending  agents  reciprocally, 
ibon  conclude  a  treaty  5   after  which  they  kill  feveral 
head   of  gayals  and   feaft  on  their  flefli,  calling  on 
the  fun  and  moon  to  bear  witnefs  of  the  pacifica- 
tion :   but  if  one  fide,  unable  to  refift  the  enemy,  be 
thrown  into  diforder,  the  vanquiflied  tribe  is  confidered 
as  tributary  to  the  viftors,  who  every  year  receive 
from  them  a  certain  number  of  ^^'j/r,  wooden  diflies^ 
Weapons,   and  other  acknowledgment  of  vaflTalagc. 
Before  they  go  to  battle,  they  put  a  quantity  of  roailed 
alus  (efculent  roots  like  potatoes)  and  pafte  of  rice- 
flour  into  the  hollow  of  bamboos,  and  add  to  them 
a  provifion  of  dry  rice,  with  fome  leathern  bags  full  of 
liquor :  then  they  aflemble  and  march  with  fuch  ce- 
lerity, that  in  one  day  they  perform  a  journey  ordi- 
narily made  by  letter-carriers  in  three  or  four  days, 
fince  they  have  not  the  trouble  and  delay  of  drefling 
vidtuals.     When  they  reach  the  place  to  be  attacked, 
they  furround  it  in  the  night,  and,  at  early  dawn,  enter 
it,  putting  to  death  both  young  and   old,  women 
and  children,    except  fuch  as  they  chufe  to   bring 
away  captive.    They  put  the  heads  which  they  cut  off 
into  leathern  bags  ;  and  if  the  blood  of  their  enemies 
be  on  their  hands  they  take  care  not  to  wafti  it  off* 
When,  after  this  flaughter,  they  take  their  own  food» 
they  thriift  a  part  of  what  they  cat  into  the  mouths  of 
the  heads  which  they  have  brought  away,  faying  to 
each  of  them,  *  Eat,  quench  thy  thirft,  and  fatisfy  thy 

*  appetite.     As  thou  haft  been  flain  by  my  hand,  lo 

*  may  thy  kinfmen  be  flain  by  my  kinfmen  !*  During 
their  journey,  they  have  ufually  two  fuch  meals;  and 
every  watch,  or  two  watches,  they  fend  intelligence 


OF  TIPRA«  lOI 

of  their  proceedings  to  their  families.  When  any  of 
them  fends  word  that  he  has  cut  off  the  head  of  an 
enemy,  the  people  ot  his  family,  whatever  be  their  age 
or  fex,  exprefs  great  delight,  making  caps  and  orna- 
ments of  red  and  black  ropes ;  then  filling  fome  lafge 
veflels  with  fermented  liqours,  and  decking  them- 
felves  with  all  the  trinkets  they  poflefs,  they  go  forth 
to  meet  the  conqueror,  blowing  large  (hells  and  ftrik- 
ing  plates  of  metal,  with  other  rude  inftruments  of 
mufic.  When  both  parties  are  met  they  (how  extra- 
vagant joy,  men  and  women  dancing  ^nd  finging 
together ;  and  if  a  married  man  has  brought  an  ene- 
my's head,  his  wife  wears  a  head-drefs  with  gay  orna- 
ments, the  hufband  and  wife  alternately  pour  fer- 
mented liquor  into*  each  other's  mouths,  and  (he 
waflies  his  bloody  hands  with  the  fame  liquor  which 
they  are  drinking  \  thus  they  go  revelhng,  with  exceC- 
five  merriment  to  their  place  of  abode ;  and,  having 
piled  up  the  heads  of  their  enemis  in  the  court-yard 
of  their  chieftain's  houfe,  they  fing  and  dance  round 
the  pile ;  after  which  they  kill  fome  gay  ah  and  hogs 
with  their  fpears,  and,  having  boiled  the  flefli,  make 
a  feaft  of  it,  and  drink  the  fermented  liquor.  The 
richer  men  of  this  race  faften  the  heads  of  their  foes 
on  a  bamboo,  and  fix  it  on  the  graves  of  their  parents ; 
by  which  aft  they  acquire  great  reputation.  He  who 
brings  back  the  head  of  a  flaughtered  enemy,  receives 
prefenti  from  the  wealthy  of  cattle  and  fpirituous  li- 
quors \  and  if  any  captives  are  brought  alive,  it  is  the 
prerogative  of  thofe  chieftains  who  were  not  in  the 
campaign,  to  flrike  off  the  heads  of  the  captives. 
Their  weapons  are  made  by  particular  tribes ;  for  fome 
of  them  are  unable  to  fabricate inftruments  of  war. 

In  regard  to  their  civil  inftitutions,  the  whole  ma- 
Jiagement  of  their  houfehold  affairs  belongs  to  the 
wome^  J  while  the  men  are  employed  in  clearing  fo- 


192  ON   THE  MOUNTAINEERS 

rcils,   building  huts,  cultivating  land,  making  war^ 
or  hunting  game  and  wild  bealls.     Five  days  (they 
never  reckon  by  months  or  years)  after  the  birth  of  a 
male  child,  and  three  days  after  that  of  a  female,  they 
entertain  their  family  and  kinfmen  with  boiled  rice  and 
fermented  liquor;  and  the  parents  of  the  child  partake 
of  the  feaft.     They  begin  the  ceremony  with  fixing  i 
pole  in  the  court-yard ;  and  then,  killing  agayal  or  a 
hog  with  a  lance,  they  confecr?te  it  to  their  deity ;  after 
which  all  the  party  eat  the  flefh  and  drink  liquor^ 
clofing  the  day  with  dancing  and  with  fongs.     If  any 
one  among  them  be  fo  deforntc'd,  by  nature  or  by  acci- 
dent, as  10  be  unfit  for  the  propagation  of  his  fpecies, 
he  gives  up  all  thought  of  keeping  houfe,  and  begs 
for  his  fubfiftence,  like  a  religious  mendicant,  from 
door  to  door,  continually  dancing  and  (inging.  When 
foch  a  perfon  goes  to  the  houfe  of  a  rich  and  liberal 
man,  the  owner  of  the  houfe  ufually  ftrings  together  afc 
number  of  white  and  red  flones,  and  fixes  one  end  of 
the  ftring  on  a  long  cane,  fo  that  the  other  end  may 
hang  down  to  the  ground ;  then,  paying  a  kind  of 
lliperftitious  homage  to  the  pebbles,  he  gives  alms  to 
the  beggar ;  after  which  he  kills  a  gayal  and  a  hog> 
and  fome  other  quadrupeds,  and  invites  his  tribe  to 
a  feaft.     The  giver  of  fuch  an  entertaingient  acquires 
extraordinary  lame  in  the  nation :  and  all  unite   in 
applauding  him  with  every  token  of  honour  and  re- 
verence. 

When  a  Cuci  dies,  all  his  kinfmen  join  in  killing 
a  hog  and  a  gayal;  and,  having  boiled  the  meat, 
pour  fome  liquor  into  the  mouth  of  the  deceafed,  round 
whofe  body  they  twift  a  piece  of  cloth  by  way  of  (hroud* 
All  of  them  tafle  the  fame  liquor,  as  an  offering  to  his 
f jul  5  and  this  ceremony  they  repeat  at  intervals  for 
feveral  days.  Then  they  lay  the  body  on  a  ftage,  and  * 
kindling  a  fire  under  it,  pierce  it  with  a  fpit^  and- 


OP    TIPKA.  193 

;    dry  it :  when  it  is  perfc^lly  dried    they  cover  it  with 

!    two  or  three  folds  of  cloth  ;    and,    enclofing  it  in  a 

,    litde  cafe  within  a  cheft,  bury  it  under  ground.     All 

the  fruits  and  flowers  that  they  gather  within  a  year 

after  the  burial,  they  fcatter  on  the  grave  of  the  de- 

.    ccafed  ;  bijit  fome  bury  their  dead  in   a  different 

manner,    covering  them  firft  with  a  fhroud,    then 

with  a  mat  of  woven  reeds,  and  hanging  them  on  a 

high  tree.     SomCj  when  the  flerti  is  decayed,    walh 

'  the  bones,  and  keep  them  dry  in  a  bowl,  which  they 

open  on  every  fudden  emergence ;    and  fancying 

the  mfelves  at  a  confultation  with  the  bones,  purfue 

whatever  meafures  they  think  proper,  allcdging,  that 

they  a<Sl  by  the  command  of  their  departed  parents 

and  kinfmen.    A  widow  is  obliged  to  remain  a  whole 

J  ear  near  the  grave  of  her  hufband,  where  her  family 
ring  her  food  :    if  fhe  die  within  the  year,    they 
mourn  for  her;  if  fhe  live,  they  carry  her  back  to 
'    her  houfe,  where  all  her  relations  are  entertained  with 
the  ufual  feafl  of  the  Cuci. 

If  the  deceafcd  leave  three  fons,  the  eldefl  and  the 
youngeft  fhare  all  his  property,  but  the  middle  fon 
takes  nothing  :  if  he  have  no  fons,  his  eflate  goes  to 
his  brothers ;  and  if  he  have  no  brothers,  it  efcheats 
to  the  chief  of  the  tribe. 


NOTE. 


A  party  of  Ci/^/  vifitedthe  late  Ch  akles  Ckoptes, 
Efq.  at  Jafarabad  in  the  fpring  of  1770,  and  enter- 
tained him  with  a  dance  ;  they  promifcd  to  return 
after  their  harveft,  and  feemcd  much  pleafcd  with 
thdr  reception. 


Vol.  II.  O 


: 


!■ 


; 


\ 


XIII. 

t)N   THE 

SECOND  CLASSICAL  BOOK 

OF  THE 

CHINESE. 
BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

THE  vicinity  of  China  to  our  Indian  territories 
from  the  capital  of  which  there  are  not  more 
than^jp  hundred  miles  to  the  province  of  Yunan, 
muft  neceflarily  draw  our  attention  to  that  moft  an- 
cient and  wonderful  empire,  even  if  we  had  no  com- 
mercial intercourfe  with  its  more  diilant  and  mari- 
time provinces ;  and  the  benefits  that  might  be  de- 
rived from  a  more  intimate  connexion  with  a  nation 
kng  famed  for  their  ul'eful  arts  and  for  the  valuable 
produdlions  of  their  country,  are  too  apparent 
to  require  any  proofs  or  illuftrat ion.  My  own  in- 
clinations and  the  courfe  of  my  ftudies  lead  me  ra- 
ther to  confider  at  prefent  their  laws,  politics^, 
and  morals,  with  which  their  general  literatiire  is 
clofely  blended^  than  their  manufaftures  and  trade  : 
Borwill  I  fpare  either  pains  or  expenfe  .  to  procure 
.  tranflations  of  their  moft  approved  law  tratls,  that  I 
may  return  to  Europemth  diflindl  ideasdrawnfromthe 
fountain-head  of  the  v/ik{i  jijia^ic  legiflation.  It  will 
probably  be  a  long  time  before  accurate  returns  can 
be  made  to  my  enquiries  concerning  the  Chinefe 
Laws ;  and,  in  the  interval,'  the  Society  will  not, 
])erhaps  be  difplcaled  to  know  that  the  tranflation 
of  a  moft  venerable  and  excellent  work  may  be 
expefted  from  Canton  tfirough  the  kind  affiftance  of 
aaincftimable  correfpondent. 

•  According  to  a .  CA/w^/^  writer,  named  Li  Yang 
fing,  ^«  the  ancient  chara6lers  ufed  in  his  country 
"  were  the  outlines  of  vifible  objeits^  earthly  and 

O  2 


1Q6  on  the  second  classical 

^  celcftial :    but  as  things  merely  intellecflual  coii 

*  not  be  exprcfled  by  thofe  figures,  the  grammariai 
^  of  Chifia  contrived  to  rcprefent  the  various  open 
^  tions  of  the  mind  by  metaphors  drawn  from  tl 
^  produftions  of  nature  :  thus  the  idea  of  roughne 
^  and  of  rotundity,  of  motion  and  reft,  were  coj 
^  vcyed  to  the  eye  by  ligns  reprefenting  a  mOuntai: 
^  the  fky,  a  river  and  the  earth  ;  the  figures  of  tl 
^  fun,  the  moon,  and  the  ftars,  differently  combine 
^  ftood  for  fmoorhnefs  and  fplendour,  for  any  thin 
^  artfully  wrought,  or  woven  with  delicate  workmai 

*  ftiip ;  extenfion,  growth,  increafe,  and  many  oth< 

*  qualities,  wqre  painted  in  charadlers  taken  froi 
^  clouds,  from  the  firmament,  and  from  the  vcg< 
^  table  part  of  the  creation  ;  the  different  ways  c 
^  moving,  agility  and  llownefs,  idlenefs  ^d  -dili 
^  gence,  were  cxprcfTed  by  various  infedls,    birdi 

*  fifh,  and  quadrnpeds.  In  this  manner  paffion 
^  and  fcntiments  were  traced  by  the  pencil,  and  ida 
^  not  fubjeft  to  any  fenfe  were  exhibited  to  the  fighl 
^  until  by  degrees  new  combinations  were  invjsntec 
^  new    exprefiions   added  ;    the  characters  deviate 

*  imperceptibly  from  their  primitive  fhape,  and  th 
^  Chlne/e  language  became  not  only  clear  and  fbrci 
^  ble,  but  rich  and  elegant  in  the  higheft  degree/ 

In  this  language,  fo  ancient  and  fo  wondcrfull 
compofed,  arc  a  multitude  of  books  abounding  ii 
ufeful,  as  well  as  agreeable,  knowledge  ;  but  thi 
higheft  clafs  confifts  of  Five  works  ;  one  of  which 
at  ieaft,  every  Chinefe  who  afpires  to  literary  honour 
muft  read  ag^in  and  again,  until  he  pofleifs  it  per 
feaiy. 

The  Jirjl  is  purely  Hifloricaly   containing  annals  a 

the  empire  from  x,]\ttwO'tko2ifand  threer-Jmndred  thirty 

Jeventh  year  before  Christ  :    it  is  entitled  ShvJang^ 

and  a  verfion  of  it  has  been  publiflied  in  France  v  * 


fiOOK    OF    THE    CtiliTESfi.  iQ^ 

wliich  country  we  are  indebted  for  the  moft  authentic 
and  moft  valuable  fpecimens  of  Chinefe  hiftory  and 
KteratufQ,    from  the  compofitions  which  preceded 
thofe  of  Homer  to  the  poetical  works  of  the  prefent 
Emperor,    who  fcems  to  be  a  man  of  the  brighteft 
genius  and  the  moft  amiable  afFeftions.      We  may 
finile,  if  we  pleafe^    at  the  levity  of  the  Trench^  as 
they  laugh  without  fcruple  at  our  ferioufnefs  :  but  let 
us  not  fo  far  undervalue  our  rivals  in  arts  and  in  arlns, 
teto  deny  them  their  juft  commendation,  or  to  relax 
our  efforts  in  that  noble  ftruggle,  by  which  alone  we 
can  preferre  our  own  eminence* 

Th^  fecond  claflical  work  of  the  Chinefe  contains 
ikree  hundred  odes,  or  fhort  poems,    in  praife  of  an- 
cient fovereigns  and  legiflators,  or  defcriptivc  of  an- 
dent  manners,    and  recommending  an  imitation  of 
them  in   the  difcharge  of  all  public   and  domeftic 
duties  :    they  abound  in  wife  maxims  and  excellent 
precepts,  ^  their  whole  dodlrine,'  according  to  C««- 
j^'tfii^  in  the  Lunyu  or  Moral  D'lfcourfes^  *  being  re^ 
'ducible  to  this  grand  rule,  that  we  Ihould  not  even 
'entertain  a  thought  of  any  thing  bafe  or  culpable;' 
but  the  copies  of  the  8hi  King^  for  that  is  the  title  of 
the  book,  are  fuppofed  to  have  been  much  disfigured^ 
fince  the  time  of  that  great  philofopher,  by  fpurious 
■paflages  and  exceptionable  interpolations ;    and  the 
ftylc  of  the  poems  is  in  fome  parts  too  metaphorical, 
while  the   brevity  of  other  parts  renders  them  ob- 
fcure;    though    many  think    even    this   obfcurity 
fablime  and  venerable,  like  that  of  ancient  cloy  (lers 
ttid  temples,  '  Shedding  as  Milton  exprelTes  it,  *  a 

*  dim  religious  light.''  There  is  another  paflage  in  the 
hiffUy  which  deferves  to  be  fet  down  at  length  : 
'*  Why,  my  fons,  do  you  not  ftudy  the  book  of  Odes  ? 
*Ifwc  creep  on  the  ground,   if  we  lie  ufelefs  and 

*  inglorious,  thofe  poems  will  raife  us  to  true  glory  2 

03 


igS  0!r  THE  SECOND  CLASSICAL 

'  in  them  we  fee,  as  in  a  mirrqr,  what  may  beft  be- 

*  come  us,  and  what  will  be  unbecoming  ;  by  theii 
^  influence  we  fhall  be  made  focial,  affable,  benevo- 
'  lent ;  for  as  mufic  combines  founds  in  juft  melody 

*  fo  the  ancient  poetry  tempers  and  compofes  du; 

*  paflions :  the  Odes  teach  us  our  duty  to  our  parent 
^  at  home,  and  abroad  to  our  prince;  they  inftrud) 
^  US  alfo  delightfully  in  the  various  produftions  o 
'  nature/  , '  Haft  thou  ftudicd,'  faid  the  philgfophej 
to  his  fon  Peyu^  '  the  firft  of  the  three  hundred  Ode; 

*  on  the  nuptials  of  Prince  Venvam  and  the  virtuoa; 

*  Ta'i  Jin  ?  He  who  (ludies  them  not  refembles  s 
^  man  with  his  face  againft  a  wall,  unable  to  advance 

*  a  ftep  in  virtue  and  wildom.'  Moll  of  thofe  Ode 
are  near  thtee  thoufand  vears  old,  and  fome,  if  w< 
give  credit  to  the  Chineie  annals,  confiderably  older 
but  others  are  fomewhat  more  recent,  having  beet 
compofcd  under  the  later  emperors  of  the  thirm 
family,  called  Sheu.  The  work  is  printed  in  fow 
volumes ;  and  towards  the  end  of  x\\tjir/ly  we  find 
the  Ode,  which  Couplet  has  acairately  tranflated  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Tahio,  or  Greai  Science^  where 
it  is  finely  amplified  by  the  philofopher  :  I  pro- 
duce the  original  from  the  Shi  King  itfelf,  and  frow 
the  book  in  which  it  is  cited,  together  with  a  dou- 
ble verfion,  one  verbal  and  another  metrical ;  the 
only  method  of  doing  juftice  to  the  poeticalcom- 
pofitions  of  the  Jfiatics.  It  is  a  panegyric  on  Vumn^ 
Prince  of  Guey  in  the  province  of  Honang,  who  died^ 
near  a  century  old  in  the  thirteenth  ytzx  oiFthe  empe- 
ror Piifgvangyftveihunclred and  thirty-Jix years  before 
tiie  birth  of  Chrijt  or  one  hundred  and  forty- eight  ac- 
croding  to  Sir  Ifacc  Newton,  after  the  taking  of  Troy; 
fo  that  the  Chinefe  Poet  might  have  been  contempo- 
rary with  Hefiod  and  Horner^  or  at  leaft,  muft  have 
written  the  Ode  before  the  Iliad  and  Odyjffey  were 
carried  into  Greece  by  Lycurgus, 


BOOK  OP  THE  CHINESE*  199 

The  verbal  tranflation  of  the  thirty  two  original 
charafters  is  this  > 

1  2       4  3 

*    '  Behold  yon  reach  of  the  river  Ki ; 

5        6  7  8 

I    '  Its  green  reeds  how  luxuriant !  how  luxuriant! 

9  11    12  10 

,    '  Thus  is  our  prince  adorned  with  virtues ; 
13         u         \5       i6 

*  As  a  carver,  as  a  filer,  of  Ivory, 
17      18  19    20 

*  As  a  cutter,  as  a  polifher,  of  gems. 

21  23 

*  0  how  elate  and   fagacious ;  O  how  dauntlefs  and 

compbfed ! 
23  li 

*  How  worthy  of  fame !  Mow  worthy  of  reverence ! 
25  27  28  25 

^  We  have  a  prince   adorned  with  virtues^ 

.,  29  30     31  32 

*  Whom  to  the  end  of  tinit  we  cannot  forget/ 

THE  PARAPHRASE. 

■ 

*       Behold,  where  yon  blue  riv'let  glides 
Along  the  laughing  dale  ; 
Light  reeds  bedeck  its  verdant  fides. 
And  frolic  in  the  gjle  : 

So  fliines  our  Prince  !  In  bright  array 

The  Virtues  round  him  wait ; 
And  fweetly  fmil'd  th'  aufpicious  day. 

That  raised  him  o'er  our  ftate. 

As  pliant  hand^  in  Ihapes  refin'd 

Rich  ivVy  carve  and  fmoothe, 
His  Laws  thus  mould  each  ductile  mind. 

And  every  paffion  foothe. 

04 


i 


*900  ON   THE    SECOND    CLASSICAL 

As  gems  are  taught  by  patient  art 
In  fparkling  ranks  to  beam, 

With  manners  thus  he  forms  the  hearty 
And  fpreads  a  genVal  gleam. 


What  foft,  yet  awful^  dignity  ! 

What  meek,  yet  manly,  grace  I 
What  fwcetnefs  dances  in  his  eye. 

And  bloffoms  in  his  face  ! 


So  fliines  our  Prince  !  A  Iky-bom  crowd 

Of  Virtues  round  him  blaze  : 
Ne'er  fhail  Oblivion's  murky  cloud 

Obfcure  his  deathlefs  praife. 

The  prediftion  of  the  poet  has  hitherto  been  ac- 
compliflied ;  but  he  little  imagined  that  his  Compo- 
fition  would  be  admired,  and  his  prince  celebrmi 
in  a  language  not  then  formed,  and  by  the  natives 
of  regions  fo  remote  from  his  own. 

In  the  tenth  leaf  of  the  Ta  Hio,  a  beautiful  com- 
parifon  is  quoted  from  another  ode  in  the  Shi  Kmg^ 
which  deferves  to  be  exhibited  in  the  fame  form  wfii 
the  preceding : 


1  2  3 

*  The  peach-tree  how  fair !  how  graceful ! 

4    5  6  7 

'  Its  leaves,  how  blooming  !  how  pleafant ! 

8  9  10         11 

*  Such  is  a  bride,  when  Ihe  enters  her  bridegroom's 

houfe, 

12  13  14  15 

^  And  .pays  due  attention  to  her  whole  &mily/ 


► 


BOOK.   OF    l^HE    CHINESE.  VJl 

The  fimile  may  thus  be  rendered : 

Gay  child  of  Spring,  the  garden's  queen. 
Yon  peach-tree  charms  the  roving  fight : 

Its  fragrant  leaves  how  richly  green  ! 
Its  bloflbms  how  divinely  bright  J  ^ 

So  foftly  fmiles  the  blooming  bride, 
By  Love  and  confcious  Virtue  led 

O  'er  her  new  manfion  to  pr^fide, 
And  placid  joys  around  her  fpread. 

The  next  leaf  exhibits  a  comparifon  of  a  diiFeant 
nature,  rather  fublime  than  agreeable,  and  convey- 
ing rather  cenfure  than  praiie  : 


1  2         3  4 

0  how  horridly  impends  yon  fouthem  motmtain! 
5  §  '  7         8 

'^ts  rocks  in  how  vaft,  how  rude  a  heap  ! 

9  10  li  12 

Thus  loftily  thou  fitteft,  O   minifter  of  YN  ! 

U  13  ^  15  16 

An  the  people  look  up  to  thee  with  dread. 

Which  may  be  thus  paraphrafed  : 

See,  where  yon  crag's  imperious  height 

The  funny  highland  crowns. 
And  hideous  as  the  brow  of  night. 

Above  the  torrent  frowns  ! 

So  fcowls  the  Chief,  whofe  will  is  law, 

Regardlefs  of  our  ftate  ; 
While  millions  gaze  with  painftil  awe, ' 

With  fear  allied  to  hate. 


I 


"«r 

*uotjjicn»d  |'*c^{o 

r^ 

'pauiJijuoo  ♦'t^t'p 

r-ivs 

'SuijnBo  "fv'-n 

r.=v^ 

'X;i_y3D3u  |f=sr|rS 

m 

'p3p3J3»rn^ 

^1 

'pjinq  01  SuynBo  •-Jv^ 
(-It, 

^•' 

"IP 

*3DUBT|duiOD  I'^pO 

,H 

'pauiEd  •'^ 

i/T 

';eo  0}  guiAiS  ••f/^ 

if 

0  '0         : 

T 

'psiedajd  •ncv 

€ 

'Suiiouoq  B-vT 
<"    fa 

r:vn 

,-. ._y> 

BOOK    OF    THE    CHINESK.  203 

ever,  of  an  indiridual  are  fo  limited,  and  the  field  of 
^,knowledge  is  fo  vaft,  that  1  dare  not  prpmife  more 
^than  to  procure,  if  any  exertions  of  mine  will  avail, 
|.  a  complete  tranflation  of  the  Shi  King,  together  with 
an  authentic  abridgement  of  the  Chinefe  laws,  civil 
and  criminal.  A  native  of  Canton,  whom  I  knew 
fome  years  ago  in  England,  and  who  pafled  his  firft 
I'  exan.in  itions  with  credit  in  his  way  to  literary  diftinc- 
tions,  but  was  afterwards  allured  from  the  purfuit  of 
learning  by  a  profpcft  of  fuccefs  in  trade,  has  fe- 
voured  me  with  the  Three  Hundred  Odes  in  the  origi- 
nal, together  with  the  Lun  Yu,  a  faithful  veriion  of 
which  was  publilhed  at  Paris  near  a  century  ago  ; 
but  he  feems  to  think,  that  it  would  require  three  or 
four  years  to  complete  a  tranflation  of  them  ;  and 
Mr.  Cox  informs  me  that  none  of  the  Chinefe  to 
whom  he  has  ^cctk,  pojfefs  leifure  and  firfeverance 
inmgh  forfuch  a  tajk  ;  yet  he  hopes,  with  the  affift- 
'ance  of  fVhang  Atong,  to  fend  me  next  feafon  fome 
of  the  poems  tranflated  into  EngUJh.  A  little  en- 
couragement would  induce  this  young  Chvufeto  vifit 
['Ww,  and  fome  of  his  countrymen  would,  perhaps, 
accompany  him;  but  though  confiderable  advantage 
io  the  public,  as  well  as  to  letters,  might  be  reaped 
[  from  the  knowledge  and  ingenuity  of  fuch  emigrants, 
yet  we  mufl:  wait  for  a  time  of  greater  national 
wealth  and  profperity,  before  fuch  a  meafure  can  be 
.  fcririally  recommended  by  us  to  our  patrons  at  the 
helm  of  government. 


^—^r- 

'uortjiaiMd  |'^{^   ^ 

r-^ 

'p3mji[uoD  •'^^i^o 

_( 

f-iv^ 

'SutJtlBD  »'^^C^ 

1 

r-bv^ 

'XjijpDSU  Ir^rS 

^ 

rr\ 

■ps^s"  "-rrn 

^ 

'pimq  04  SuTjnBD  •S'v^ 

^1 

J'lP^  1'^. 

"Op 

If-* 
if 


•aouBiiduioa  I'^p^ 

'psuisd  *'V"^ 

'4B3  01  SuiAiS  ^W^ 

';u3uiiU3j3jd  jor^i^ 

'psjedajd  •'ry^ 

'Suiiouoq  9-W 

'uoijBuuguoa  jc^f'* 


^"Vir^^thJSrS^ 


.^ 


VIII.    With  J  for  the  3d  radical. 


as 


DC.     With  (S  for  the  ift  radical, 

as 


X.    With  (S  for  the  2d  radical, 

as 


XL    With  (S  for  the  3d  radical, 

as 


XII.    With  I  for  the  ift,  and  . 
the  2d  radical,  as 


j^^Pat; 


Infe 


yMt< 


Pa* 


P<6 
In 

PJ! 


r* 


« 1^1 


^A 


•4 


^ 


-.  r9\ 


jjX**l  nciodcftjr. 


i      X 


I 


f 


•  •  •. 


ADVERTISEMENT, 


EXAMPLES  of  derivatives  from  Arabic  quadri- 
literals  rarely  occur  in  the  Perfian  language  ; 
id  from  the  gth,   lith,  12th,  and  13th,  cpujuga- 
ons  of  triUterals  there  are  none  to  be  met  with,     I . 
ave,  therefore,  confined  my  obfervations  to  the  nine 
onjugations  included  in  the  table.     And  although 
^articular  fenl'es  and  ufes  are  afllgned  to  each  of  thefe 
)y  grammarians,  (which  inay  be  feen  in  Mr.  Richards 
oris  Gram.  p.  Qb)  it  is  at  the  fame  time  to  be  ob- 
brved,  that  they  are  neverthelefs  frequently  ufed  in 
>ther   fenfcs  ;  many  of  them  retaining  the  limple 
ignification  of  their  primitives  :  and  that  every  root 
loes  not  extend  through  every  conjugation,  but  that 
ome  are  ufed  in  one  form,  many  in  feveral,  none 
nail. 

Thefe  obfervations  are  applicable  to  the  prefent 
Tubjedl ;  and  the  derivatives  of  fuch  conjugations  as 
ire  more  frequently  ufed  in  the  Arabic,  feem  alfo  to 
be  more  frequently  than  any  other  introduced  into 
the  Perfian. 

Where  no  examples  of  any  particular  form  is  to  be 
found  in  Golius  and  Meninfki,  I  have  left  a  blank 
in  the  table,  which  may  be  filled  up  whenever  any 
can  be  met  with. 

With  regard  to  the  examples  which  I  have  brought 
to  illufl:rate  the  following  rules,  they  are  fuch  as 
came  firfl:  to  hand;  and  one  example  of  an  infinitive 
or  participle  is  intended  as  a  reprefcntation  of  thp 
infinitive^  and  participles  of  every  fpecies  and  con- 
jugation.   To  have  attempted  a  complete  fyftem  of 


208  ON  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF 

examples  would  have  earned    me  far  beyond 
limits  of  my  prefent  undenaking. 


OF  ARABIC  INFINITIVES. 

I.  Their  MafcuHne  Singulars  are  ufcd  in  the  E^^r 
fian  as  Subftantives ;  and  in  every  refpe6l  ferve  -*rlc 
fame  purpofes,  and  are  fubje<^  to  the  fame  rule^  o| 
COnftrudlion  as  fubftantives  originally  Perfian. 

1.  {orcrning  a  sub.  fol,  Z^*^^     ■    ^\j   ^"^^^   of  unaniin.it  3^ 

2.  agreeing  with  an  ad,  foI«  ^    •^    ^  ^?^  8^^*'  bast^ 

f  ^ 


3.  agreeing  with  a  part.  pas.  fol,        ^y^***^  jf.j^^     the  said  wri  C  inf 

\  f  I  •  •  rtiy    view  "^•* 

4.  oominarives  to  verbs,  \>^  O^-    7^  j^  **^'* 

,  ..    •!         *\       I  •   M  •••       f   b^    rrccived 

5.  governcJ  by  verbs,  ^-^^ S?  J"^  ' ^"^   UOAI^^I    g.rat  Jelighl 

I  \  •*'  'I     \«  •  ^^-''^         prrfo*"*  ■ 

6.  governed  by  a  prep.  *>*^  'j^  ^S-^^^'  J  *  ^-^-~  in^  rbe  duties 

7.  united  by  a  corjun(aion  O^    .         5    C/ ^^T*"^      .••pl'^u.'iour 


9114 


I.  rendered  definite  by <^^0*^>  Li>^^-^    '  was  bttween 

affixing  C»S 

II.  Their  MafcuIIne  plurals  are  ufed  in  the  Pe''— 
fian  as  fubftantives  ;.  and  in  every  rcfpe6l  ferve  th^ 
fame  piirpofes,  and  are  fiibjeft  to  the  fame  rules  <^ 
conftru6lion  as  fubftantives  originally  Perfian. 

Ex. 

I.  g-^verning  a  sub.  fol.  \f^  ^w^^^yifc^i  of  men. 


AKABIC  INTO  PERSIAN,  209 

»j  with  an  ad.  fol.  ^<m^<K}    JLX^I   good  a£lioDS 

f  (     f    f  ^^^       qvalifiqi* 

tg  with  a  part,  pas,  fol,  ^I^^jJOm.*-^^! |^^ I  tions  d?«crib«<i 


•  Their  Feminine  Singulars  are  uftd  in  the 
n  as  fubftantives  ;  and  in  every  refpeft  fervc 
me  purpofes,  and  are  fubjc6l  to  the  fame  rules 
illrudtion  as  fubflantives  originally  Perlian. 


aatives  to  verbs,  v—^uwJ  s— ^'«;^i    missioii 

I     \[        I  ••    I        \  m       f^^    business     of 
ung  a  sub,  foL  ViwAOV^  V.--\A^  LX^  ih^  empire. 

ig  with  an 'ad.  fol,  ^V^V^  *^    ^^  a   Woody     ba 


tie 
a  letter      written 


>3!i  fol,      CjK'^^^J'^  O^^  y^  A>J  LA^  in  friendship. 

.  Their  Feminine  Plurals  are  ufed  in  the  Per- 
s  fubftantives  ;  and  in  every  refpeft  ferve  the 
purpofcs,  and  are  fubjecft  to  the  fame  rules  of 
iiiftion  as  fubftantives  originally  Perfian. 


V  the    civilities   of 


.ning  a  sub,  foK  (^ U>^  J^  ^(-^^  friend**' 

ring  « itb  an  ad.  fol.  (,.5^  C^X«  Lx^  public  affai.s 

I       •  I  ••    tl     •    A    I     (^*     ^^'«  *****        * 

«ing  with  a  part,  pai,  foK      JJi  j"^  ^-^V.AAAAJ   jhens 


.  The  infinitives  of  the  firft  conjugation  of  tran- 
t  verbs  are  regularly  of  the  form  exhibited  in  the 
i,    But  thofe  of  Intranfitives  are  reducible  to  no 


L™,.  innumerable  c«.t«a 


ON  THE  i»T»"  Gr-»:-^ 

•ilO.  .      ,mrrable  exceptions.  V"^^« 

1.  without  mnumcraDicr         diffc-=^era 

proper  ruU^^ttio  ^    ^^  Sardfon  s  Gr"-^ -nu» 

i^toduced  ircel>  ^^ 

o-      ,Urs   are  ufcd  «*       i 

Pctfian  as  particij:' 

icaWes.  ^^^ 

EX.  ,,         OjU/i^^"* 


^  *5  ^  ciiy 


....II        foW»''»s!Mlc 


ARABIC  IICTO  PEllSIA»r;  2H 

S.  ..r..^,  with  an  .d.  f.,.  U^J.  UU    ,  ....  .„.. 


Uf  ^ 


••  igretiiij  with  a  part,  pas.  foU      C/'«*^*^^w^   >^[^i   absolute  judge 

a*±^^       I    IVl  %    *^«  put  the  mur- 
7»  gOTcrned  by  a  vefb,  v-^v^wv^?  i  ww^j    dcrcr  t«  death 


uncommon     con-    ^<— --^  ^-^  '•#»fc-rv  j^ 


I      -A        Containing   frieni- 
(.^Y^**^-^    ship. 


II.  Their  mafculine  perfeft  plurak  are  ufed  in 
ht  Perlian  as  fiibllantives,  in  the  form  of  the  oblique 
afe  which  terminates  in  ^jo.  But  they  do  not  feem 
►  be  ufed  in  the  form  of  the  nominatiVe  which  ter- 
natcs  in  (mj 

X  «  governed  by  a  jub.  ^^^   .   .  a  J      I       I  /*  '^^  knowledge  •£ 

^^ing  before;  CLHt^  '  J  tj^^'  z*-^^  the  modtins   ao4 

^  ^         anc2»ncs* 

A  I .  »  A  •  ^^'®    '^^    of   the 

{J^iT'^^'*^  /^^  faithful 

III.  Their  mafculine  imperfe<9:pluraU  are  ufed  in 
^  Perfian  as  fubftantives. 


1 1     ••  ••      I         I  (  I  r";^  officers  of  f  h»  prt- 

c^-veming  a  sub.  fol,    cJ  ^-i**^***** '  ^  (J  ^^  /»  vA^^  sent  and  future 

fc^reeinJewilhaH  ad.        .,  \v        .  V  ,^  Vj!*^       \f     -.  the  new  and   old 
roU  A^^J  A!^-^  J  S^  agents 

XV.  Their  feminine  Singulars  are  ufed  in  the  Per- 
nn  as  participles^  as  fubftantives,  and  as  adjedlives. 

a»  •  part.  aa.  with  a  verb.  fo).        *-^-***» '  A^  '■^  ,he  is  pregnait 
Sub,  governing  another  fol,       '^-^^-'v-w  %^^  v<9  pjre 

P 


212  ON   THE    INTRODUCTION   OF 

Ex. 

3.  as  an*  ad.  qualifying  a  tub.  goinr  ^  t     f  t  a    prcemnt   v»> 

before,  AA^lC^  {^J    maa 


\ 


4.  »s  a  nub,  qualified  by  an,  ad«  I  .     ^      >  •  1  •*• 

lollowing,  J^U  •^AX**w^  kini  fricnj 


V.  Their  feminine  pcrfeift  plurals  are  ufcd-in  tbe 
Ferfian  as  fubftantives  expreifing  things  whhoQt 
life. 


Ix. 


(      *i*^il«**l      *^*    incidenCi  of 
if  govtrning  a  tub.  following,  C-)^^  U-JLR»5Ij  time 

2.  aggrcciog  with  as  ad,  fol,    {^^^  ^  Cjfci  j]j 


UBforsee» 
cstnXM 


•     1 


or  ARABIC  PARTICIPLES  PASSIVE^ 


I.  Their  mafculine  Angular  are  ufed  in  the 
Perfian  as  participles  paffivc^  as  fubftantivcs,  and  as 
adjcdlives* 

£x. 

I, as  part..  ..        I      f    -1     I^   ^/5^i  •^     .  ^  thefumofmy 

^  -^  ^(^^5r^V^ 'towed  on  that 

^  tended 

enlightened 
soul ;    i,  e*  tri 

^  present  it,  ku 


ARABIC  INYO  PSRSlAK*  21^ 

XJy<ia  V>^t^  e.    the      thing 
,      ^^  ^-         ^       desired)    of 


the  touls 


n  ad.  <iuallfylag  a  tub.  going  aIL^^  xcXJLi  ^^*  »"j"red 


intentto«     and 


I  "N      >^«       intent! 

ed  with  another  sub.  by  a  con.     f  Y^ ^  O^J-^^A^  design 

rvX  oJoioy  Jo^tisr^o  ^.^^  ?'gU"  ''•' 

.«.«,« to   ^^  ^1^  ^^.^f  ,3^^^  .^h.M„. 


1*       their  intentioA 


[.  Their  mafculine  perfeft  plural  does  not  feem 
►c  ufcd  ki  the  Pcrfian,  cither  in  the  form  of  the 
linative  or  the  oblique  cafe. 

[1.  Their  feminine  fingulars  are  ufcd  in  the  Per- 
as  fubftantives,  and  as  adjedlives. 

a.iO^«  governing  another  foLitf      (VVO  A3  a>#^X^  c,    the   iNdovcd 

-^  ofme 

anV.  agreeing  wrth  a  ,4/A^  aS  Aj^iJUi    f^*  4    '*''*      ^ 

art.  pai,  fol,  \JJr  ^"^^  «w^>*^<^.«q    j^y^4  woman 


lart 

I  aa  ad«  agreeing  with  a  sub, 
Soing 


*  agreeing  with  a  sub.    ^         %    ♦  -^      vll      reipcdttd        aa* 
before,  A^vA3;r»«C>J  U  thcr 


tV.  Their  feminine  perfcft  plurals  are  ufed  in  the 
rfian  as  fubflantiyes^    to  exprefs  things  without 


U^i.^*l.    11^     **^«    demandf    of 
... , ^  ,  ^  O  '  **-^4^«WtfV0  that  frien4 

treeing  whh  an  ad,  fol.   (j^J^  ^^  ^-^A^^|(r  affaira 

*   Pa  '^ 


414  ON  THE  iJJTRObUCTION  OF 

V.  The  aftive  and  paffive  participles  of  tranfidve 
verbs  form,  with  a  following  fubftantive  having  the 
article  ^I  prefixed  to  it,  compounds  correfpohdiin'! 

to  that  of  c^j^  V^,  which  are  ufed  in  the  Pci 

as  fubftantives  and  as  adjeftivei.  Il 


£x. 


rfM^^  C^Ij  Uf^'^  Irr^'l^ 


OF  ARABIC  ADJECTIVES  refemhUt^  PAjt'l 

TIGIPLES. 


I.  The  forms  ^  t»^  u^ouo  (*v.m*;^  reprefcnt 


fpecies  of  Arabic  words  which  are  derived  from  ii 
fitive  verbs ;  and  called  by  Arabic  grammarians,  a 
jedlives   refembling  participles.     The  fingulais 
thefe  forms  are  ufed  in  the  Perfian  both  as  adjedtii 
and  fubftantives. 


Ex. 

I.  as  a  sub.  qu'ilified  the  pronoun 
dem. 


-  |-  that 


a    with  a  verb, 


^•^^•^^' jrJy**  be  il  wicke4     ' 
3.  as  an  ad.  qiiilif>  ing  a     sub.  ^^^  Ouwj  c]^        ^^^  ^^j^ 

II.  Their  plurals  are  ufed  in  the  Perfian  as 
flantives. 

Ex.  tii  ' 

/•iLjAi  r  /"(      <1L     ****    learned 
!•  governing  a  subTtU  -  W^TTi  vj>  ^^'^^^   men  of  GrcMt. 

t, agreeing  with  an  ad,  fol,         ^Sr^  ^  ^  Cj^'-^^  hitegriij 


ARABIC    l^TO    PERSIAN,  415 

III.  Thefe  three  forms  of  adjeftives,  refembling 

participles,  form,  with  a  following  fubftantive  having 

*  thearticle  Jlprefixedto  it,  compounds  correfponding 

to  that  o{(^jj^j:L,  which  are  ufed  in  the  Perfian 

both'  as  fuBlftantives  and  adjedtives. 


old   se!# 


,ta  sub.  qualified  by  tht  A^^  J  |  . . ^j,g,C5^  ,  •  J    ,      ^ 

'pro.dcBon,  •'^-^7'  '  VIa***-^  V^'  chat  beauty 

C^^OCS^  I    •J  JOJ  ^jT  that 

S.  as  a  lub.  qualified        ^  J.      CU^l\:s:^  I  "" i.  V %  '*'«  •*^'*  ^^^^  •"- 
by  an  ad.  fol.         Jj^   ^>v«  v.-^'l^C\-^^  f  ^i^^CO  vant 

3»  a»  an  ad.  qualifying  a  j^^^^     V-^Jf         •/  VV    r\  »  «"»«  of  long 

sub.  goiug  before,      ^-""^  CKST  I     ^OO^i^ j^  5^^^-^^^  K 

OF  PARTICIPLES  exprtjfmg  the  Smfe  of  their 
PRIMITIVES  in  a  Jironger  Degree. 

I  * 

I.'  The  forms  ^Uoi^j^aj  j^Aoi  jL^  jA^  arc 

participles  which  exprefs  the  fenfe  of  their  primitives 
^'  in  4  ftronger  degree ;  and  are  fometimes  ufed  in  the 
Perfijgi  as  a^jeftives. 

1.  agreeiiif  ^'^^^  *  'W^*  g»»"g  before,       •^  ^-"^^  •^,  j^^^  •   dicine 

,  **         f  .     ^    ^    he  i«  full  of  pa- 
X,  Bgreeiag  With  a  verb.  fol.  V-^V**  ^jy^    tiencc. 


^«  ^  is  the  form  of  a  participle  expreffing  the 
fenfe  of  the  primitive  in  a  lefs  degree ;  but  it  does 
not  feem  to  be  ufed  in  the  Perfian. 

OF  ARABIC  SUBSTANTIVES. 

I.  The  Arabic  noun  of  time  and  place .  are  fre- 
quently employed  in  the  Perfian  ;  and  the  following 
IMt  exhibits  the  forms  of  fuch  as  are  derived  from 
the  lirft  conjugations  of  the  different  Ipccies  of  tri- 
literals. 


2l6  OW  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF 

CONJUGATION  FIRST. 

From  Bom 

I.  i--*AX«thetimeandplaccofiPriting,V*'*" 

II.  yjuo  a  place  of  reft— refidcnce,  j 
II^'           [j^  U  a  place  of  fafety,                       {*J* 

c/,  V.  IcXa^  the  place  and  time  of  be^nmngwW 

2  V I,  £*^_^^  p'*'^^ — opportunity,                   ^^ 

^  VII.  ^IX«  the  place  and  time  of  (landing,    ff 

g  VIII.  U(JU  the  place  or  object  of  defire,     jO> 

fc  X.  ^:V^«  the  place  and  time  of  felling,       Xu 

;<  Al.  L*j-«  the  placeand  time  of  tbromng,  i^J 

^  XII.  *^Lc  the  place  of  return— the  center,  VV 

5  -^V  •  (5^?^  the  timeof  coming — arrival,   ?  ij^ 

V  -X.  V 11.  Lji^  jjje  place,  the  way  of  approaching,  »jl 

j£  AVlIl.       I^j^theplaceof  looking,  beholding,    C^y 

C_5_J^-^>*»  t^s  place  of  power-^uid  thiw 

lord,  inafter,  &c.  tyJ 

A.XI.  'fc^  a  place  ofdivifioii— theinterTal,  t.^^ 

■AAlI.      Usi*  the  time  and  place  of  liring,        (<V 

■^^^^^-  cijU  jl  jU  a  place  of  habitation- 
refuge,  cCji 

— ■ — —To  cxprefs  the  place  more  particularly,  O 
is  fornetime  added  to  the  common  form,  as,  ^  -iJlj 
fuming  place.  -^*    ' 


ARABIC  INTO  PEBSIAN.  317 

II.  The  noun  of  time  and  place  from  the  deriva- 
tive conjugations  is  cxa6lly  the  fame  with  the  par- 
'  .  ticiple  paffive  ;  and  is  alfo  ufed  in  the  Perfian. 


**  deposited-*«Is9    t 


^     Ex,  t.  a  part,  paj,  from  the  loth  con,        V  O^JAWA^  place  of  deposi 

b 

III.  The  Perfian  language  has  terms  proper  to 
itfelf  for  exprefling  the  inftrument  of  adlion  ;  it  does 
not  however  rejcft  the  ufe  of  the  Arabic  inftru- 
~    mental  noun  which,  is  reprefented  by  the  forms, 

^Ucu^  yoi^  or  V:i^y^A^ 

Ex.  u  governing  another  <-X>V^Awj  (J-XC  (^  U^S^  «cale  of  rcafoo 

*\.   ^V  .        I  •/•      t^«  k.ey  of 
^.^"^^  r^"^  intcniioa 


IV.  All  Arabic  proper  names,  and  the  nam( 
things,  are  introduced  into  Perfian  at  pleafurc. 


names,  and  the  names  of 


Uf 


iviecca,  (jsxc 
flelh,  cXci^  an  anccftor,  &ۥ  &c. 


OF  ARABIC  ADJECTIVES. 

I.  Befides  the  Arabic  participles  which  we  have 
already  obferved  are  ufed  as  adjeftives,  there  is  alfo 
a  plentiful  fource  of  real  adje6lives  formed  byafRxing 
(^  to  fubftantives  of  almoft  every  denomination, 
which  are  freely  introduced  into  the  Perfian  ♦ 


218 


OK  THE  INTBOBUCTION  OF 


Ex.  (<il*wJ '  humane,  r^l;I  earthly,  C^y^il 
Egyptian,  &c.  &c. 


II.  The  mafculine  Ungulars  of  Arabic  fuperlativa^ 
are  ufed  in  the  Perfian  both  as  fubflantivcs  andid« 
jc6liycs. 


%x. 


1.  at  a  tub.  eovcrning  another  fel.  il  f      *      \  ..     I    the  nM 

(jl^J    cXXmjI    Mtcof 


a.  tf  an  ad,  qualifying  a  lub,  ,    .  ...^  J  fj^  ^   ^^    VJ^"^^ 


time 


III.  The  mafculine  plurals  of  Arabic  (uperlatiTW 
are  ufed  in  the  Perfian  both  as  fubftantivcs  and  ad« } 
jedlives. 


Ex, 

I.  as  a  sub.  governing  another  fol,  it,* 


2.  as  an  ad,  qualifying  a  sub, 
going  belore^ 


,  .1/1    the  great  aw  •! 

^Jji^^    theage 

T'^*'***'  W^^-^        personages 


IV.  The  feminine  fingulars  of  Arabic  fuperlativei 
are  ufed  in  the  Perfian  as  adjcftives. 


£x.  t.  qualifying  a  sub.  going 
before^ 


f^^M^^C^'^^^ 


most       • , 


V.  Arabic  ordinal  numbers  arc  ufed  in  the  Perfian 
as  adje<SUves. 


«,  •  qualifying  a  tub,  beforei 


Jjiv^ 


the  first  cha^pCer 


r 
f 


ARABIO  INTO  PBft$IAlC«  219 

Of  the   FORM   of   ARABIC  WORDS  whtn 

ufed  in  the  PERSIAN, 

<[  li  All  Arabic  infinitives,  participles,  fubftantives, 
and  kdjcAives,  are  introduced  into  the  Pcriian  in  the 
form  of  the  nominative,  which  throws  away  from  the 
laft  letter  every  fpecies  of  nunnation  {%^)  ;  or  ihort 

'"  Towel  (;^-^),  which  they  may  poffefs  as  Arabic  words, 

and  remain  without  motion  ;    but  when  their  con- 

ftrucftipn  in  the  Perfian   requires  them   to  aflume 

the  termination  of  another  cafe,  they  receive  it  in 

-  the  lame  manner  as  if  they  were  originally  Perfiau 

words  ;  with  the  following  exceptions. 

ifl:.  When  an  Arabic  word  terminating  in  ^, 
that  muft  be  pronounced  as  I  *,  becomes  the  firft 
fubflantive  in  conftrudlion  with  another  fubftantiyc 
following  it,  iS  is  adlually  changed  into  I,  to  which 
ibort  4^  O  is  afterwards  ^fiixed  to  Ihew  th^  con- 

iirtuAion* 

■ 

~     C^^N^'  in  conftruftion  becomes  C^ts^*,   as 
C^Uyi'  the  petition  of  interceifion,  and  fo 

alfo  ^^^^A*i  Cr^>^^  Lsl^^  ^^* 

•• 

Id.  Feminine  Arabic  fuhjlantwes  terminating  in  S 

when  introduced  into  the  Perfian,   change  g,  fomc- 

timet  into  y,  and  fometimes  into  C^. 


Ex.   CUxsrt  friendfhip,  being  found  written  by 
the  fame  author  aas:-^  and 


^d.  Feminine  Avdbic  adjeffhes  znAparticiphs  ter- 
minating in  g,  when  introduced  into  the  Perfian.  al- 
ways  change  i  into   y. 

*  See  Richardfon's  Arabic  Gram-p.  109.  Canonr  III. 


:iCO  ON  THE  INTBODUCTIOX  OF 

Ex.   AAcd  [.i^  purr^  is  always  written  ^uof Idj 
as  AAoilrL.  ys>jpsy<  pure  friendfhip. 


4 /A.  Arabic  particles   plural   terminating  ii 
(^j,  although  introduced  into  the  Perfian  as  no-| 
mi  natives,  are  originally  the  oblique  cafes. 

Ex.  <AJci^  j9  (^^^isfc  (^>A^  i-XJuC^  0^,^J^  ^ 
learned  ancients  thus  laid. 

bthi  When  an  Arabic  infinitive  is  ufed  in  the 
Perfian  language  as  an  adverb,  it  is  introduced 
in  the  form  of  the  Arabic  accufative  without  aoj 
change. 

Ex.  liUu'l  accidentally,  &c.  &c. 


OF  ARABIC  ADVERBS,  PREPOSITIONS, 
AND  CONJUNCTIONS. 

I.  Arabic  adverbs,  prepofitions,  and  conjundtioni, 
fcem  to  be  introduced  into  the  Perfian  language  at 
pleafure.  Of  thefe  Mr.  Richardfon  has  made  a  very 
ufeful  collection  in  hischapteroffeparate  particles, 
to  which  I  beg  leave  to  refer ;  obferving,  at  the  iamc 
time,  that  a  knowledge  of  fuch  as  are  moft  frequently 
employed,  will  eafily  be  acquired  from  experience 
without  any  particular  inftrucftions. 

OF  ARABIC  COMPOUNDS. 

I.  The  manner  in  which  diflfcrent  Arabic  parts  of 
fpecch  are  einployed  to  forma  variety  of  conipounded 
words  made  ufe  of  in  the  Perfian,  is  well  explained 
by  Sir  William  Jones  in  his  Perfian  Granmuir ;  and 


ARABXe'  tKTO  PSR8lAK«  231 

^ith  rcfpcft  to  phrafes  purely  Arabic,    and  whole 
fcntenccs,  which  are  often  met  with  in   Pcrfian  au- 
thors, they  require  a  perfeft  knowledge    of  the  Aa 
bic  language,  and  do  not  belong  to  this  place. 


OF  THE  CONSTRUCTION  OF   ARABIC 
INFINITIVES,    PARTICIPLES,    SUB- 
STANTIVES, AND  ADJECTIVES. 

I.    In  the  Perfian  language,  when  Arabic  adjec- 
tives or  participles  are  made  ufe  of  to  qualify  Ara- 
bic or  Perfian  fubftantives  fingular,  they  agree  with 
,  theniL  in  gender  and  number, 

Ex. 

bjr  an  Arabic  part.  mas.         J^  ^JK^  ViT^i'juLg    the  taid  lover* 

mother 


I «  an  Arabic  tub.  mas.  qualified  .    ^  \ 
by  an  Arabic  part.  ma*.         Jj^  wW 

t.  an  Arabic  tub,  fem.  qualified  ^  ^      /  \  I  ( 

by  an  Arabic  part,  pai.fem.  A^    w\#«  ^JtA^^    rcspcdcd 

t«  m  Pers.  sub.  mas,  qualified  by  TJ     .^\t*t»»*       \ 

'      an  Arabic  ad.  mas.  fiP^  '-.^VwjO    an  qM  friend 

4*  a  Pers,  sub.  fem.  qualified  by         •m*^  ^    ^  ^»      rK 

an  Arabic  ad.  fern,  V^>       ^T^^V^    deartiiUr 


IL  When  Arabic  adjeftives  and  participles  arc 
made  ufe  of  to  qualify  Arabic  and  Perfian  fubftan- 
tives mafculine  and  plural,  they  remain  in  the  maf- 
culine  fingular. 


El, 

!•  an  Arabic  sub,  m^s.  pi,  with  ^    \         I  <^^     tbe  said  officers 

an  Arabic  part.  mas.  sing,         Jj^    ^-'^  ^VA^ 

a.aPers.  sub.  mas.pl.  with  ^^\       ,     I  .^Xl    . 

an  Arab*  |art,naf.  ting,       J^y  ^-'Vo  {^J^^ji    the  said  bretbitn 


221  ON   THB   INTRODUCTIOir    OF 

III.  When  Arabic  adjeAives  and  participles  aft 
made  ufe  of  to  qualify  Arabic  or  Feriian  fubfta|iii?ci 
feminine  and  plural^  they  are  put  in  the  feminine  An- 
gular ;  and  often,  though  not  fo  properly^  in  tfae 
mafcvdine  lingular. 


Ex. 

I.  an  Arabic  subt 
fern.  plur.  with 
Arabic  part,  i.n. 
both  tcoi* 
masc. 


JlJ^*^   Ojf^<X«  oIaaIXj     th«  laidbuftkH 


1 .  a  Pertiar.  tub,  fern, 
plur,  with  Arabic 
part*  sing,  both  fern. 

•'**""••  •      .  ^»      t  I  ••   ecompUibei 


IV,   An  Arabic fubftantive,  in  the  Perfian,  is  often,  : 
rendered  definite  by  a  following  Arabic  adjedlive  o    ] 

participle  having  the  article  ^  (  prefixed, 

r^^^   ft  « 

Er.aavb.  with  at  pari.  paf.         ^\J>^^ir  \    ^  ^Aj    the  prophet d«ft 


■1 


For  an  account  of  the  genders  of  Arabic  wordSi 
and  of  their  pcrfcft  and  imperfedt  plurals,  I  muft 
again  refer  to  Mr.  Richard/on  s  Arabic  Grammar ; 
and  to  that  of  Erpenitcs,  where  the  latter  fubjedt  ii 
treated  at  ftill  greater  length. 


0/  the  INTRODUCTION    of  the    ARABIC 
into  the  LANGUAGE    of   HINDOSTAN. 


I.  All  the  different  fpecies  of  infinitives,  partici- 
ples, fubftantives,  and  adjectives,  which  we  have 
enumerated  ;  and  all  compounds  fornied  by  Aralk 


ARABIC   INTO    PIRSIAK.  223 

and  Perfian  words,  arc  introduced  into  the  language 
of  Hindqftariy  in.  the  fame  form,  for  the  fame  pur- 
pofes,  and  with  the  fame  freedom  as  in  the  Perfian  r 
fubmitting  themfelves  to  the  different  rules  of  regi- 
men and  concord  that  are  peculiar  to  thai  lajnguage; 
in  tlie  fame  manner  as  if  they  were  words  originally- 
belonging  to  it.  Arabic  adverbs,  prepofitions,  and 
conjundlions,  are  alfo  ufed  in  the  language  of  Htn^ 
dojian  ;  but  I  think  lefs frequently  than  in^he  Perfian. 


■•  # 

J 


•  I 


XV. 

ON  THE 

ASTRONOMICAL    COMPUTATIONS 

OP  THE 

HINDUS. 

BY  SAMUEL  DAVIS,  Esa. 

Ebagalpur,  1 5th  Feh,  1789. 

IT  is,  I  believe,  generally  admitted,  that  inquiries 
into  the  aftronomy  of  the  HimJus  may  lead  to 
much  curious  information,  bcfides  what  relates  merely 
to  the  fcience  itfelf ;  and  that  attempts  to  afcertain 
the  chronology  of  this  ancient  nation  will,  as  they 
have  hitherto  done,  prove  unfatisfa&ory,  unlefs 
^dSftance  be  derived  from  fuch  refearches. 

The  following  communicition  is  not  expeftcd  to 
contribute  towards  fo  defirable  a  purpofe  ;  but,  with 
all  its  imperfedlions,  it  may  have  the  ufeful  cffeftof 
awakening  the  attention  of  others  in  this  country  who 
are  better  qualified  for  fuch  inveftigations,  and  of  in- 
citing them  to  purfue  the  fame  objcft  more  fuccefs- 
fblly,  by  Ihowing  that  numerous  treatifes  In  Sanfcrit 
on  aftronomy  are  procurable,  and  that  the  Brahmens 
arc  extremely  willing  to  explain  them.  As  an  en- 
couTJ^ment  to  thofe  who  may  be  inclined  to  amufe 
themjfelves  in  this  way,  I  can  farther  venture  to  de- 
clare, from  the  experience  I  have  had,  that  Sanfcrit 
books  in  this  fcience  are  more  eafily  tranflated  than 
almoft  any  others,  when  once  the  technical  terms  are 
underfiood  :  the  fubjeA  of  them  admitting  neither 
of  metaphyfical  reafoning  nor  of  metaphor,  but  be 
ing  delivered  in  plain  terms  and  generally  illuftrated 
Hrith  examples  in  pradlice,  the  meaning  may  be  well 
enough  tnade  out,  by  the  help  of  a  Pandit,  through 
the  mcdittm  of  the  Perfian  or  the  Hindi  language. 


226    OK  THk  AStROKOMICAL  COllPUTAT^OirS 

Moreover  it  does  not  appear,  that  fkill  in  the  ^ 
ftnife  parts  of  modern  mathematics  is  indifpenfaUj 
neceflary ;  but  that  with  as  much  knowledge  of  g^ 
ometry  and  the  circles  of  the  fphere  as^  it  may  be 
fuppol'cd,  moft  of  the  members  of  this  fociety  pot 
fefs,  a  coiifiderable  progrefs  might  be  made  in  »• 
vealing  many  interefting  particulars,  which  at  pre* 
fent  lie  hid  to  Europeans  in  the  JyoUjh^  or  ailrono- 
mical,  Sdftra. 

The  prediction  of  eclipfes  and  other  phenomeUt 

publifhed  in  the  Hindu  Patra,  or  Almanac^  excited 

my  curiofity  long  ago  to  know  by  what  means  it  im 

eftedted  ;  but  it  was  not  until  lately  that  I  had  any 

means  of  gratification.     I  had  before  this  been  in-. 

clined  to  think,  with  many  others,  that  the  Brahmai 

poflefs  no  more  knowledge  in  aftronomy  than  thiy 

have  derived  from  their  anceflors  in  tables  ready  cat 

culated  to  their  hands,  and  that  few  traces  of  thi 

principles  of  the  fcience  couldbe  found  among  them;  - 

but  by  Gonfulting  fdme  Sanfcnt  books,  I  was  induced 

to  alter  my  opinion.     To  fatisfy  myfelf  on  thisfob- 

jeft,  I  began  with  calculating,  by  a  modern  Hmk 

formula,  an  eclipfe  which  will  happen  in  next  iVi- 

vemher ;  the  particulars  of  which  procefs,  althoudi 

in  feme  meafure  interefting,  were  not  fuf&cient  fa 

my  purpofe,  as  it  yet  remained  to  be  learnt  on  whi! 

grounds  fome  tables  ufed  in  it  were  conftmded  5 

and  for  this  information  I  was  referred  to' the  Su$y$ 

SiddhantUy  an  original  treatife,  and  reputed  a  divine 

revelation.     For  a  copy  of  the  Surya  Siddhanta  I  ajn 

indebted  to  Sir  Robert  Chamiers^  who   procured  it 

among  other  books  at  Benares  ;  but  the  obfcurityof 

many  technical  terms  made  it  fometimes  difficult  to. 

be  underftood  even  by  the  Pandit  1  employed,  who 

was  by  no  means  deeply  verfedin  the   Iciencehe 

profefl'ed.     By  his    diligence,     and    through  the 

obliginie:  affiftancc  of  Mr.  Duncan  at  Benares^  who 

procured  for  me  the  Tika^    or  Commentary,  thit 


OP    THE    MlNDtJS.  -  22^ 

difficulty  was  at  length  furmounted ;  and  a  compiita* 
tion  of  the  above-mentioned  eclipfe,  not  merely  on 
the  principles,  but  ftriftly  by  the  rules,  of  the  Surya 
Slddhania^  is  what  I  propofe  now  to  prefent  you  with, 
after  fuch  preliminary  obfcrvations  as  may  be  necef* 
lary  to  make  it  intelligible. 

I  fuppofe  it  fufnciently  well  known,  that  the  Hindu 
divifion  of  the  ecliptic  into  figns,  degrees,  &c.  is  the 
lamie  as  ours  j  that  tlieir  aftronomical  year  is  fydereal, 
or  containing  that  fpace  of  time  in  which  the  fun,  de- 
parting from  a  ftar,  returns  to  the  fame ;  that  it  com« 
mences  on  the  inftant  of  his  entering  the  fign  Aries^ 
or  rather  the  Hindu  conftellation  Mejha  *  s  (hat  each  af- 
tronomical month  contains  as  many  even  days  and 
fraiftional  parts  as  he  flays  in  each  (ign ;  and  that  the 
civil  differs  firom  the  aftronomical  account  of  time 
only  in  rejefting  thofe  fractions,  and  beginning  the 
year  and  month  at  funrife,  inftead  of  the  intermediate 
iniUnt  of  the  artificial  day  or  night.     Hence  arifes  the 
unequal  portion  of  time  affigned  to  each  month  de- 
pendent on  the  fituation  of  the  fun's  apfis,  and  the 
diftance  of  the  vernal  equinoftial  colure  from  the 
beginning  of  Mejhna  in  the  Hindu  fphere  j  and  by 
thefe  m^ns  they  avoid  thofe  errors  which  Europeans^ 
firbm  a  different  method  of  adjufting  their  calendar  by 
intercalary  days,  have  been  fubjeft  to.     An  explana- 
tion of  thefe  matters  would  lead  me  beyond  my  pre- 
ient  intention,  which  is  to  give  a  general  account  only 
of  the  method  by  which  the  Hindus  compute  eclipfes, 
and  thereby  to  (how,  that  a  late  French  author  was  too 
hafty  in  afferting  generally  that  they  determine  them 


I—  ■  -t^ 


^  Or,  to  be  more  particular,  on  bis  entering  the  Na^Jbatra^  or 
lunar  manfion  {Afwini) .  There  were  formerly  only  twenty-feven 
Vacjhatras:  a  28th  {^Ahhijti)  has  been  fince  added,  taken  ont  of  the 
2ift  and  ft  2d,  named  Uttarajbara  and  Sravana.  Thefe  three  in 
their  order  comprehend  10^,  5^,  and  iz^  40'  of  th6  Zodiac;  the 
leit  comprehend  13?  20'  each. 

Vol.  IL  Ct 


228      ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL    COMPUTATIONS 

^^  by  fet  formS)  couched  in  enigmatical  verfes,*"  &c. 
So  tzx  are  they  from  deferving  the  reproach  of  igno- 
rance which  Monf.  Sonnet  at  has  implied,  that  on  in* 
quiry,  I  believe,  the  Hindu  fcience  of  afltonomy  will 
be  found  as  well  known  now  as  it  ever  was  among 
them,  although,  perhaps,  not  fo  generally,  by  reaibn 
ot  the  little  encouragement  men  of  fcience  at  prefeot 
meet  with,  compared  with  what  they  formerly  did  un* 
der  their  native  princes. 

It  has  been  common  wichaflronomers  to  fixonfome 
epoch,  from  which,  as  from  a  radix,  to  compute  the 
planetary  motions ;  and  the  ancient  Hittdus  choie  that 
point  of  time  counted  back  when,  according  to  their 
motions  as  they  had  determined  them,  they  mufl  have 
been  in  conjunction  in  the  beginning  of  Mejka^  or 
ylries ;  and  coeval  with  which  circumftance  they  fup« 
pofed  the  creation.  This,  as  it  concerned  the  planea 
only,  would  have  produced  a  moderate  term  of  years 
compared  with  the  enormous  antiquity  that  will  be 
hereafter  flated  ;  but,  having  difcovered  a  flow  mo* 
tion  of  the  nodes  and  apfides  alfo,  and  taking  it  into 
the  computation,  they  found  it  would  require  a  length 
of  time  correfponding  with  1955884890  years  now 
expired,  when  they  were  fo  fituated,  and  23641 15110 
years  more,  before  they  would  return  to  the  fame  fi- 
tuation  again,  forming  together  the  grand  anomaliftic 
period  denominated  a  Ca^,  and  fancifully  aflSgned  as 
the  day  of  Brahnia.  The  Calpa  they  divided  into 
Manwanterasy  and  ^eater  and  lefs  Yugas.  The  ufe 
of  the  Manwantera  is  not  dated  in  the  Surya  Siddhan* 
tai  but  that  of  the  Maha,  or  greater  Yug,  is  fufficiently 
evident,  as  being  an  anomaliflic  period  of  the  fun  and 
moon,  at  the  end  of  which  the  latter,  with  her  apo^ 
and  afcending  node,  is  found,  together  with  the  fun, 


^  See  the  tranllation  of  Monf.  SQnn€rai*%  Voyage. 


bF    THE  HINDUS;  I29 

m  ihfe  firft  of  Aries ;  the  planets  alfo  deviating  froth 
that  point  only  as  much  as  is  their  latitude  and  the 
difference  between  their  mean  and  true  anomaly; 

Thefe  cycles  being  fo  conftrufted  ^  to  Cdnt^in  a 
certain  number  of  mean  folar  days,  and  the  Hindu 
iyflem  afluming  that  at  the  creation,  when  the  pla-^ 
nets  began  their  motions,  a  right  line,  drawn  from  the 
cquinodial  point  Lanca  through  the  centre  of  the 
earthy  would,  if  continued,  have  pafled  through  the 
centre  of  the  fun  and  planets  to  the  firft  ftar  in  Aries  t 
their  mean  longitude  for  Iwy  propofed  time  afterwards 
may  be  computed  by  proportion*  As  the  revolutions 
a  planet  makes  in  any  cycle  are  to  the  number  of  days 
compofing  it,  fo  are  the  days  given  to  its  motion  in 
that  time ;  and  the  even  revolutions  being  rejeded^ 
the  fradion,  if  any,  fhows  its  mean  longitude  at  mid- 
night under  their  firft  meridian  of  Lanca :  for  places 
can  or  weft  of  that  meridian  a  proportional  allowance  is 
made  for  the  difference  of  longitude  on  the  earth's  fur- 
face,  called  in  Sanjcrit  the  Defantara.  The  pofitions 
of  the  apiides  and  nodes  are  computed  in  the  fame 
manner ;  and  the  equation  of  the  mean  to  the  true 
place,  determined  on  principles  which  will  b&^reafter 
tnentioned. 

The  divifion  of  the  Maha  Yug  into  the  Safyai 
Tietay  Dwapary  snd  Cali  ages,  does  not  appear  from 
the  Surya  S'tddhanid  to  anfwer  any  pta6lical  aftronomi- 
ca!  ptii'pofe,  but  to  have  been  formed  on  idek^  fimi- 
lar  to  the  golderiyjilvery  brazen y  and  iron  ages  of  the 

'Greeh.  Their  origin  has  however  been  afcribed  to  the 
|>recefiion  of  the  equinoxes  by  thofe  who  will  of  coilrfe 

.  r^fer  the  Manwdniera  and  Culpa  to  the  fame  founda- 
tion :  exihtt  way  the  latter  will  be  found  anomaliftic,  as 
has  been  defcribed,  if  1  rightly  tinderftand  the  follow- 
ing pailage  in  the  firft  feftion  of  the  Surya  Siddhanta  j 
the  ttanflatioh  of  which  is,  I  believe,  hcte  aorreftly 
giveii,  Q^ 


230   ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

■  ■■  <^  Time,  of  the  denomination  Murta*y  is 
'<  eftimated  by  refpirations ;  fix  refpirations  make  a 
*^  Ficahf  fixty  Vicalas  a  DanJa^  fixcy  Dandas  a  iVtf^*' 
**  Jhatra  day,  and  thirty  Nncjhatra  days  a  Nacjhatra 
^*  month.  The  &T;r/»  month  is  that  contained  be« 
*'  tween  thirty  fucccffive  rifings  of  Stiryay  and  varies  in 
"  its  length  according  to  the  Lagna  Bkuja.  Thirty 
**  Tit'his  compofe  the  Chandra  month.  The  Soura 
*«  month  is  that  in  which  the  fun  defcribes  one  fign 
*•  of  the  Zodiac,  and  his  paflage  through  the  twelve 
^'  figns  in  one  year,  and  one  of  thofe  years  is  a  Dma 
**  day,  or  day  of  the  Gojds,  When  it  is  day  at  jijiira^ 
'*  it  is  night  with  tiie  Gods^  and  when  it  is  day  with  the 
^'  Gocis  it  is  night  at  ylfura.  Sixty  of  the  Dfva  days 
**  multiplied  by  fix  give  the  Deva  year,  and  twelve 
hundred  of  the  Deva  years  form  the  aggre^te  of 
the  four  Yugas.  To  determine  the  Saura  years 
contained  in  this  aggregate,  write  down  the  following^ 
numbers,  4,  3,  2,  which  multiply  by  10,000;  the 
*^  produft  4,320,000  is  the  aggregate  or  Maha  Yuga^ 
"  including  the  Sa7idhi  and  Sandhya)ifa\.  This  is 
divided  into  four  Yugas,  by  reafon  of  the  diife. 
rent  proportions  of  yirtue  prevailing  on  eanh,  in 
the  following  manner :  —  Divide  the  a^regate 
4,320,000  by  10,  and  multiply  the  quotient  by  four 
for  the  Satja  Yug,  by  three  for  the  Treta,  by  two 


cc 


.  *  This  is  mean  fydereal  time : — A  Na^atra^  or  fydereal  day,  is  • 
the  time  in  which  the  earth  makes  a  turn  upon  its  axis,  or,  accord* 
irtg  to  the  Hindus^  in  which  the  ftars  make  one  complete  revolution. 
This  is  iliorter  than  the  Savan^  or  folar  day,  which  varies  in  iu 
length  according  to  the  La^na  Bhitja^  or  right  afcenfion,  and  alib^ 
from  the  fun's  unequal  motion  in  the  ecliptic  ;  for  both  which 
circumftances  the  Hindus  have  their  etjuafion  of  time,  as  will  api* 
pear  in  the  calculation  ot  the  eclipfe. 

t  Afura^  the  fouth  pole,  the  habitation  of  the  Jifura  Laca,  of 
demon^,  with  whom  the  Devas,  who  refide  at  Sumene^  the  north 
pole,  wage  eternal  war. 

X  Bandhi  and  Sandhyanfa,  the  morning  and  evening  twiIidi^ 
The  proper  words,  1  l)clicvc,aFe  Sandhya  and  Sandhyanfa^ 


^ 


Of   THE  HINBUS^. 


*s* 


<c 

€€ 
C< 
CC 

« 
€€ 

ac 

CC 

CC 
CC 

<c 

CC 
(CC 
.CC 
CC 
CC 
CC 
CC 


for  the  Dwapar,  and  by  one. for  the  Cali  I^jf#.  Di- 
vide either  of  the  Yugs  hf  fix  for  ifs  §and^  |nd 
Sandhyanfa.  Seventy-one  Yug$  make  a  Mamvan* 
tera ;  and  at  the  clofe  of  each  MamvanUr^  there  is 
a  Sandhi  equal  to  \h^  Satya^Yug^  during  which 
there  is  an  univerfal  deluge.  Fourteen  Manwan-- 
terasy  including  the  Sandhi^  compofe  a  Calpa^  and 
at  the  commencement  of  each  Calf  a  there  is  a 
Sandhi  equal  to  the  Saiya  Yug^  or'  i^^^Sjopo  Saura 
years.  A  Crz^^  is  therefore  equal  to  i  ooo  ilf/^Aii 
Yugs.  One  Calpa  ia  i<iay,wit;h  ,Brahma%  and  his 
night  is  of  the  fame  length  ;  and  the  period  of  his 
life  is  loo  Cf  his  years*  One  half  of  the' term  of 
Brdhma\  life,  or  fifty  years,  is  expired,  and  of  the 
remainder  the  firft  Calf  a  is  begun  ;  and  fix  Man-- 
wantetasy  including  the  Sandhi^  are  expired.  .  The 
feventh  Manwantera,  into  which  we  are  now  ad* 
vanced,  is  named  Farvajwata.  Of  this  Manwantera 
twenty-feven  Maha  Yugs  are  elapfed,  and  we  are 
now  In  the  Satya  Yug  of  the  twenty-eighth,  which 
Satya  Yug  confifts  of  1,728,000  Saura  years.  The 
whole  amount  of  years  expired  from  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Calf  a  *  to  the  prefent  time,  may  hence 


CooftrudioD  of  the  Calpa. 

Tears. 


Cap, 
Divapar^ 


4320000 

ID 

4320000 

10 
4320000 

10 


S9i    432COO 
X  2  =  864000 

Xj  =»  1296000 


_  4320000 

Satyam  ^ X  4=  T  728000 

10  

Aggregate  or  M^ba  Tug,        4320000 

71 

MaffWantertif         -         -      30672GOOO 

With  a  Smndbi  equal  to  the 

Satya  Tug,      -      -  1728000 

•  308448000 

, 14 

Calf  a  f      •    •    •     .    •    4318272000 
With  a  Sandhi  e^al  to 

the  Satya  Tug,       •  1728000 

Whole  duratioa  of  Calfa^  4320000000 


Computation  of  the  period 
ekpfed  of  the  Calpa  at  the  end 
of  the  laft  Satya  age»  when 
the  Sury^  SMJhanta  is  fup- 
pofed  to  have  hetn  written. 


Sandhi  at  the  beginning  of 
the   Calpa^    •     .     •    • 


Tears. 
X718000 


6  Manwanteras,  or 

308448000  X  6  =  1850688000 

27  Maha  Tugs  of  the  7th 
Mawwanteray  or 

432GOOO  X   27SSS  I1664COOQ 


Satya  Age  of  the  28th 
Maba  Tug^     • 


s=  1728000 
197078400<^ 


0.3 


IjX      OK  THE  ASTROKOMXCAt  COMFITVATIOKS 

^*  be  computed;  but  from  the  number  of  years  fo 
*^  founds  mud  be  made  a  dedu£lion  of  one  hundred 
'*  times  four  hundred  and  (eventy-foiu"  divine  years, 
'^  qr  of  that  produ£t  multiplied  by  three  hundred  and 
**  fi|rty  for  human  j^rs,  that  being  the  term  of  Brai^ 
^*  moHi  employment  in  the  creation ;  after  which,  the 
^'  pUnptary  motions  commenced. 

^^  Sixty  Visalas  make  one  Cala^  fixty  Calas  one 
^^  Bbagaj  tbiny  Bhagas  one  Rqfi^  and  there  are 
^*  twelve  /24^j  in  the  Bhagami^. 

*^  ^  In  one  Yugy  Sutya^  Buddhay  and  Sucra  perform 
^^  4320000  Maahyama  revolutions  through  the  Zodiac; 
^'  Mangala,  Vrihaspatly  and  Aini  make  the  fame  num- 
^^  ber  of  Sighra  revolutions  through  it ;  Chandra  makes 
•^  1577533 j6  J  Madhyama  revolutions;  Mangab 
^<  2296832  Madhyama  revolutions;  Buddha's  Sighrat 
*^  arei  17937060;  FrihaffatJs  Madhyamas  36^220; 
"  Sucra^s  Sighras  7022376;  Sani*% ^  MadJ^amas  are 
*^  146568.  The  CXtfw^ro^A^Atf  revolutions  are  488203J 

the  retrograde  revolutions  of  the  Chandrapata  are 

232238. 

♦*  The  time  contained  between  funrife  and  funrife 
*•  is  the  Bhumi  Savan  day  :  the  number  of  thofe  days 


-^ 


*  The  divifion  of  the  Bbagana^  or  Zodiac,  into  figos,  de* 
grees,  &c. 

t  5x<rya  the  Sun ;  Bud^ha^  Mercury  ;  Suera^  Venus ;  MMngJa^ 
Mars ;  Fribafpaiiy  Jupiter  :  Sani^  Saturn,  Chandra^  the  Mood  ; 
the  Chandra  Ucbfb^^  or  Cbandrotbcha^  the  Moon's  apogee,  CAm* 
dra  PatAi  the  Moon's  afcending  node.  The  Madhyama  revolu- 
tions of  Marsy  Jupiter,  and  Saturn,  and  th^  Sighra  revolutions  of 
Venus  and  Mercuiy,  anfwer  to  their  revolutions  about  the  Sun* 

X  $77^333^ — 4320000  S3433336  lunar  months,  or  lunatipoi 
in  a  Tu2 ; 

.1577917828  ^-  ^-  ^-  ^  ., 

D.    H.    M.   •• 

ip  each  mean  lut^atiop,  or  in  Eogliih  time,  29^  i»,  44.  a  47**  J**^* 
t3433336— 5 1840000=  i  $93336  jUbi or  intercalary  lunarttionthi 
in  43ZOOOQ  iolar  fydereal  years. 


OP  THE  HINDUS.  23^ 

**  contained  in  a  Yug  is  1577917828*;  the  numbct 
••  o{ Hiacjhaira  days  1582237828-1-;  of  Chandra  days 
**  1603000080;  of -^^A/ months  1593336;  oiCJhaya 
•*  Tifhis  25082252  ;  of  &/ttr/i  months  51840000. 
•*  From  cither  of  the  planets  Nacjhatra  -days  dcduft 

*  -^—2 — ^a=  365.  1^.  31.  31,  34.  diurnal  revolutions  of  the 
4320000  gy^^  ^j^^  j^^jj  ^^  ^1^^  ^^.^^^  y^^^ 

^  =  365.  !?•  31.  31-  24.  diurnal  revolutions  of  tfae 

4320000  ^^  j^  ^^^  y^^^^ 

-^ T=  27.  19.  18.  1.  37.  &c.  the  Moon's  periodical  month. 

5775333  'pijg  1603000080  Chandra^  or  lunar  days,  called  alfo 
Tii*inSf  are  each  one-thirtieth  part  of  the  moon's  fynodical  month 
or  relative  period,  and  vary  in  length  according  to  the  inequa- 
litjr  of  her  motion  from  the  fun.  The  Q/baya  Tit'his  and  AJhi^ 
or  intercalary  lunar  months,  are  fufficientiv  evident. 

The  fun  and  planets  prefide  alternately  over  the  da3rs  of  the 
week,  which  are  named  accordingly.  The  firft  day  after  the 
creation  was  Ravivar^  or  Sunday :  it  began  at  midnight,  under  the 
ineridian  oi  Lancd ;  ahd  th^  Rmvhfor  of  the  Hf«/^i  correfpondt 
with  our  Sunday.  The  fun  and  planets  in  the  fame  manner  go«* 
vehi  the  years :  hence  they  may  be  fatd  to  have  weeks  of  yoars. 
Z)iMr/rrfi  prophecy  is  fuppofed  to  mean  weeks  of  years. 

The  Ainii  cycle  of  60,  fupfkofed  by  fome  to  be  the  Chaldean 
Safest  IS  referred  to  the  planet  Jupiter  1  '*  one  of  thefe  years  fs 
^  caual  to  the  time  in  which  by  the  mean  motion,  he  (Frtbes/^Pi) 
^*  aavances  one  degree  in  his  orbit.**  (Commentary  on  the  Sury^ 
Siddbanta.)  This  c\xle  is,  I  believe,  wholly  applied  to  aftrology. 
Neither  this  C3rcle  ot  60  nor  the  Pirri^%  day  are  mentioned  in  this 
part  of  the  Surya  Slddbanta^  where  they  might  be  expedcd  to  oc- 
cur. Perhaps  on  inquiry  there  may  be  found  fome  reaSon  for  fup- 
pofing  them  both  of  a  later  invention.  **  The  Pitris  inhabit  b^ 
^'  hind  Chandra,  and  their  mid-day  happens  when  Chandra  is  in 
^'  coqjundion  with  Sutya ;  and  their  muinight,  when  Chandra  is  in 
*'  oppofition  to  Surya ;  their  morning,  or  funrife,  is  at  the  end 
^*  of  half  the  Oi/bna  Pacjha\  and  their  funfet  at  the  end  ef  half 
^*  the  Sucla  Fatjbax  this  is  declared  in  the  Sacefya  Sanhita.  Their 
^'  nanoes  are  4gni^  Swafi^  &c.  their  day  and  night  are  therefore 
together  equal  to  one  C/6tfff^4  month.*'  (Commentary).  Hence, 
it  appears,  the  ISHdns  have  obferved  that  the  nu)on  revolves  once 
00  her  axis  in  a  lunar  month,  and  confequently  has  the  fanne  fide 
,  always  oppofed  to  the  earth.  They  have  alio  noticed  the  diffe* 
rence  of  her  apparent  magnitude  in  the  horizon  and  on  the  meri- 
dian, and  endeavour  to  eaiplain  the  cauie  of  a  phenomenon,  whiqh 
J^arefeans  as  well  as  (hemi^lves  are  at  a  loiii  to  account  for^ 

0.4 


434       ^^  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUT ATIGITS 

^*  the  number  of  its  revolutions,  the  remainder  will 
*«  be  the  number  of  its  Savan  days  contained  in  a  Yugk 
•*  The  difference  between  the  number  of  the  revolu- 
•*  tions  of  Sufya  and  Chandra  gives  the  number  of 
<*  Chandra  months ;  and  the  difference  .between  the 
^^  Saura  months  and  Chandra  months  gives  their  xmm« 
.*«  ber  of  jidU  months..  Peduft  the  Savan  days  from 
**  the  Chandra  days,  the  remainder  wiJl  be  the  num- 
>•  ber  of  Tifhi  CJhayas.  The  number  of  Adhi  months, 
**  Ttfhi  CJhayaSy  Hacjhaira^  Chandra^  and  Savan 
**  days,  muhiplied  feverally  by  looo,  give  the  num* 
^  ber  of  each  contained  in  a  Cal^a. 

**  The  number  of  Mandochcha  revolutions,  which 
•'  revolutions  are  dire(^,  or  according  to  the  order  of 
**  the  figns  contdned  in  a  Calf  ay  is  of  Surya  3187  ; 
^*  of  Man^aJa  2014;  of  Buddha  368 ;  of  Vriha^ah 
:**  9COS  o^Sucra^^^'^  oiSani^g. 

■  **  The  number  6f  revolutions  of  the  Pa^asj  which 
**  revolutionis  are  retrograde,  or  contrary  to  the  order 
**  of  the  figns  contained  in  a  Calpa^  is  of  Mangah 
*^  214;  of  Buddha  488:  of  Frihqfpah  174  ;  01  «S/«- 
**  era  903  5  of  Sani  662.  The  Pata  and  Uchcha  of 
**  CAtfw^rtf  are  already  mentioned."    ^ 

It  mull  be  obferved,  that,  although  the  planetary 
motions  as  above  determined,  might  have  ferved  for 
computations  in  the  time  of  Meya,  the  author  of  the 
Surya  Siddhatita^  yet  for  many  years  paft  they  have  not 
been  found  to  agree,  with  the  obferved  places  in  the 
heavens  in  every  inftance ;  and  that  correftions  have 
accordingly  been  introduced,  by  increafing  or  reducing 
thofe  numbers.  Thus  the  motions  of  the  moon^s  apo- 
gee  and  node  are  now  increafed  in  computations  of 
their  places  by  the  addition  of  four  revolutions  each  in 
a  Yug  to  their  refpedive  numbers  above  given.  The 
nature  of  thefi^  corrections,  denominated  in  Sarifcrit 


OF    THE    HINDUS*  235 

Bydj  IS  explained  in  a  paflage  of  the  Tica^  or  Com- 
mentary, on  the  Surya  Siddhanta^  wherein  is  main- 
tained the  priority  of  that  Sajira^  in  point  of  time, 
to  all  others.  The  tranflation  of  that  paffage,  together 
witlj  the  text  it  iliuftrates,  is  as  follows^. 

(Surya  Siddhanta),     "  Area  (the  Sun)   addrefling 

**  Meya,  who>  attended  with  reverence,  faid.  Let  your 

**  attention,  abftrafted  from  human  concern,  be  wholly 

**  applied  to  what  I  (hall  relate.     Surya  in  every  for- 

**  mer  Yug  revealed  to  the  Munis  the  invariable  fcience 

**  of  aftronomy.     The  planetary  motions  may  alter ; 

'*  but  the'  principles  of  that  fcience  are  always  tke 

"  fame.'^ 

The  Commentary.  —  •*  Hence  it  appears,  that  the 
*'  Surya  S'lddhania  was  prior  to  the  Brahma  Siddhanta 
*^  and  every  other  Saftra ;  becaufe  this  Sajira  muft  be 
**  the  fame  that  was  revealed  in  every  former  Yug,  al- 
*^  though  the  motions  of  the  planets  might  have  been 
**  different.     The  variatioa  in  the  planetary  motions 
**  is  mentioned  in  the  fljhnu  Dhermottery  which  di- 
**  refts  that  the  planet  be  obfervcd  w  th  an  inftru- 
^*  ment,  whereby  their  agreement  or   difagreement 
may  be  determined  in  regard  to   their  computed 
places  ;  and  in  cafe  of  the  latter,  an  allowance  of 
^^  Bija  accordingly  made.    Vaftjhtha  in  \iis  Siddhanta 
*^  alio  recommends  this  occafional  correftion  of  Bija^ 
faying  to  the  Muni  Mandavya,  **  I  have  fhown  you 
how  to  determine  fome  matters  in  aftronomy  ;  but 
the  mean  rtiotion  of  Surya  and  the  other  planets 
will  t)e  found  to  differ  in  each  Yug.^^    Accordingly 
^*  Aryabhatta^  Brahmagufta^  and  others,  having  ob- 
**  ferved  the  heavens,  formed  rules  on  the  principles 
**  of  former  Sajirasj  but  which  difiered  from  each 
**  other  in  proportion  to   the  difagreements  which 
^^  they  feverally  obferved  bf  the  planets,  with  re- 
^  fpe^  to  their  computed  places^ 


(C 


236      ON  THE  ASmOKOMICAL  COMPHTTATIOKS 

"  Why  the  Munis,  who  certainly  knew,  did  not 
"  give  the  particulars  of  thofe  deviations,  may  feem 
'^  unaccountable,  when  the  men  jiryabkaUa,  Brah-^ 
magtiptay  and  others,  have  dctemiined  them.  The 
reafon  was,  that  thofe  deviations  are  not  in  them- 
**  felves  uniform  ;  and  to  ftate  their  variations  would. 
"  have  been  endlefs.  It  was  therefore  thought  better, 
^*  that  examinations  at  different  timss  (hould  be  made, 
and  due  correftions  of  the  Blja  introduced.  A 
Ganifa  Sajtra^  whofe  rules  are  demonftrable,  is 
true;  and  when  conjundions,  oppo(itions,  and 
other  planetary  phenomena,  calculated  by  fuch 
Sajirasy  are  found  not  to  agree  with  obfervation, 
a  proportionable  Blja  may  be  introduced  without 


C( 

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**  any  derogation  from  their  credit.  It  was  therefore 
**  neceffary  that  this  Saftra  (the  8urya  Siddhanid) 
**  fhould  be  revealed  in  each  Yug,  and  that  other 
**  Sqftras  (hould  be  compofed  by  the  Miinis* 

*^  The  original  Sajlra  then  appeals  to  be  the  Surya 
•*  Siddkanta  ;  the  fecond,  the  Brahma  Siddhania  ;  the 
*^  third,  (he  Paulajiya  Siddhanta ;  the  fourth,  the  Soma 
•*  Siddhantar 

In  the  following  table  are  given  the  periodical  revo- 
lutions of  the  planets,  their  nodes  and  apfides,  accord- 
ing to  the  Siirya  Siddhanta.  The  corrections  of  Bija 
at  prefent  ufed,  are  contained  in  one  column  ♦,  and 
the  inclination  of  their  orbits  to  the  ecliptic  in  an- 
other.    The  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic  is  inferted  ac» 


*  This  I  muft,  bowcvcr,  at  prefent  omit,  not  having  as  yet  dif- 
covered  the  corre^ions  of  this  kind  that  will  bring  even  the  San*s 
place,  computed  by  the  Surya  Siddhanta^  exa^llv  to  an  agr^emeot 
with  the  agronomical  books  in  prefent  ufe.  Of  thofe  books,  the 
principal  are  the  Grahalagbava^zovsi^izA  about  268  years  ago,  the 
tables  of  Macaranda  ufed  at  Benares  and  Tirhui^  and  the  Sidd* 
hanta  Rahafia^  ufed  at  Nadiya ;  the  laft  written  in  15 13  SaC4L^  or 
q8  years  ago. 


OF    THE    HINDUS.  .237 

cording  to  the  fame  Saftra.  Its  diminution  does  not 
appear  to  have  •  been  noticed  in  any  fubfeqiient 
ireatife.  In  the  tables  of  Macaranda^  and  alfo  in  the 
Grahalaghdva^  the  latter  written  only  268  years  ago, 
it  is  expreflly  ftated  at  twenty-four'degrecs. 

The  motion  of  the  equinoxes,  termed  in  Sanfcrtt 
the  Cranli,  and  fpoken  of  in  the  Tica^  or  commen- 
tary, on  the  Surya  Siddhanta  as  the  Sun*s  fata  or 
'  node,  is  not  noticed  in  the  foregoing  paflage  of  that 
book  ;  and,  as  the  Hindu  aftronomers  (eem  to  en- 
tertain an  idea  of  the  fubjed  different  from  that  of 
its  revolution  through  the  Platonic  year,  I  fhall  far- 
ther on^give  a  tranflation  of  what  is  mentioned,  both 
in  the  original  and  commentary,  concerning  it. 

The  next  requifite  for  the  computation  of  the  eclipfe 
is  the  portion  of  the  Culpa  expired  to  the  prefent 
time,  which  is  determined  m  the  following  manner : 

The  Surya  Siddhanta  is  fuppofed  to  have  been  re- 
'  ccived,  through  divine  revelation,  towards  the  clofe  of 
the  Satya  age,  at  the  end  of  which,  50  of  the  years 
of  Brahma  were  expired,  and  of  the  next  Calpa^  or 
day,  6  ManwanteraSy  27  greater  Yugs,  2ind  the  Satja 
age  of  the  the  28th  T/zf ,  together  with  the  Sandya 
or  twilight  at  the  beginning  of  the  Calpa ;  the  aggre- 
gate of  which  feveral  periods  is  1970784000  years 
elapfed  of  the  Calpa  to  the  beginning  of  the  lad 
Treta  age ;  to  which  add  the  Treta  and  Dwapar  ages, 
together  with  the  years  elapled  of  the  prefent  Cali 
age,  for  the  whole  amount  of  fydcreal  years  from  the 
beginning  of  the  Calpa  to  the  prefent  Bengal  year. 
But  in  the  foregoing  quotation  it  is  obferved,  from 
that  amount  of  years  mud  be  made  a  dedudion  of 
47400  divine,  or  1 7064000  human  or  fydereal  years, 
ibe  term  of  Bfahma*s  employment  in  thie  work  of 


238       OS    THE    ASTRONOMICAL    COMPUTATIONS, 


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CL. 


OF    THE    HINDUS.  239 

creation ;  for,  as  the  univerfe  was  not  completed,  the 
planetary  motions  did  not  commence  until  that  por- 
tion of  the  Culpa  was  eiapfed. 

This  deduftion  appears  to  have  been  intended  as  a 
correftion,  which,  without  altering  the  date  of  the 
Calpa  as  fettled,  probably,  by  yet  more  ancient  aftro- 
nomersy  might  (joined  perhaps  with  other  regulations) 
bring  the  computed  places  of  the  planets  to  an  agree- 
ment with  their  obferved  places,  when  th^.Surya  Sidd- 
Jia7ita  was  written  ;  and,  as  the  arguments  of  its  com- 
mentator in  fupport  of  the  propriety  of  it,  without 
prejudice  to  other  authors,  contain  fome  curious  par- 
ticulars, I  hope  I  may  be  excufed  for  departing  from 
iny  immediate  objedt  to  infert  atranilation  of  them« 

**  In  the  Surya  Siddhanfa,  Soma  Siddhd7ita,>  Praja-^ 
**  Peti^  Vaftjhfha^  and  other  Sajiras^  this  dedu6tion 
is  required  to  be  made  from  the  Calpa^  becaufe  at 
the  end  of  that  term  the  planetary  motions  com- 
**  menced.  The  fon  df  J'tjhnu^  who  underftood  four 
*•  Vedas^  and  Bhafcaracharyay  confidered*  thefe  mo- 
^*  tions  as  commencing  with  the  CalpaJ  It  may  feeni 
•*  ftrange  that  there  Ihould  be  fuch  a  difagreemcnt. 
*•  Some  n^en  fay.  As  it  is  writteh  that  the  Calpa  is 
**  the  day  of  Brahma^  and  as  a  day  is  dependent  OA 
**  the  rifing  and  fetting  of  the  fun,  the  motion  of  the 
^*  fun  andi  planets  muft  have  begun  with  the  Culpa  ; 
**  and  therefore  Brahnagupta  Ihould  be  followed : 
^*  but  1  think  otherwife.  The  Culpa,  or  Brahnia^sdsiyy 
is  not  to  be  underftood  as  analogous  to  the  folar  day 
otherwife  than  as  containing  a  determined  portion 
**  of  time  ;  neither  is  it  at  all  dependent  on  *fhe  cofti- 
^*  mencement  of  the  Culpa ;  but,  being  compofed  of  the 
"  fame  periods  as  the  latter,  it  will  not  end  until  the 
*^  term  of  years  here  deducted  Ihall  be  expired  of  the 
*f  next  Culpa.     The  motions  of  the  Grahas  muft 


240      OK  THE  ASIROKOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

••  therefore  be  computed  from  the  point  of  time  here 
<'  ftated,  as  the  beginning  of  Brahma*^  day,  and  not 
**  as  Braknidgupta  and  others  direft,  from  the  begin^ 
<<  ning  of  the  Culpa ;  which  will  not  be  found  to  an- 
"  fwer. 

*•  Other  men  fay,  that  rules  derived  frotn  the  Gohita 
**'  Saftra  and  agreeing  with  obfervatron^  are  right  | 
*^  ,that  any  period  deduced  from  fuch  a  mode  of  com- 
^*  putation,  and  the  planets  determined  to  have  been 
•*  then  in  the  firft  of  Mejha^  may  be  aflumed;  that 
**  it  will  therefore  anfwer  cither  way,  to  coniider  thcfc 
**  motions  as  beginning  with  the  Calpa^  or  after  the 
♦*  above  mentioned  period  of  it  was  expired.  This 
^'  however  is  not  true  ;  foi  in  the  inftance  of  Mangala 
«'  there  will  be  found  a  great  difference,  as  is  here 
*'  ihown.  The  revolutions  of  Mangala  in  a  Calfa, 
•*  according  to  Brahmagupiay  are  2296828522,  andf 
•*  by  the  rule  of  proportion,  the  revolutions  oi  Man^ 
"  gala  in  17064000  years  are  9072472  7*  28*^  c  itT*. 
**  For  any  other  planet,  on  trial,  a  fimilar  difagree*  ' 
•^  ment  will  be  found,  and  the  propofition  of  com  put* 
*\  ing  from  either  period  muft  be  erroneous-  More- 
"  over,  of  what  ufe  is  it  to  make  computations  for  a 
•*  fpace  of  time,  when  the  planets  and  their  motions 
«  were  not  in  being  ? 


It  might,  however,  from  the  foregoing  circum- 
ftances,    be    imputed   to   Brahmagupta    and    th<? 
**  reft,  that  they  have  given  precepts  through  igno- 


if 


'■I'"'- 


Revolutions. 
-.  «         /•   22<)68a85i2X  17064000 

*  Becaufe Jj-^IU;:^^ =907H7*  7.  iS"  o-  i6» 


OF    THE    HINI>US.  ^  241 

**  ranee,  or  with  intent  to  deceive  —  That,  having 


€( 

€1 

€€ 
€i 


ftated  the  revolutions  of  the  planets  different  from 
the  account  revealed  by  Surya^  they  muft  certainly 
have  been  in  error — That  Brahmagupta  could  not 
have  counted  the  revolutions  from  the  beginning  of 
the  Culpa :  neither  could  he  from  the  mean  mo- 
tion of  the  planets  have  fo  determined  them. — He 
^*  was  a  mortal,  and  therefore  could  not  count  the  re- 
.**  volutions. — Although  the  rule  of  proportion  (hould 
'*  be  granted  to  have  krvcd  his  purpofe  for  the  revo- 
^*  lutions  of  the  planets,  yet  it  certainly  could  not  for 
•^  thofe  of  their  Mandochcha^  becaufe  it  was  not  within 
*-  **  the  term  of  a  man*s  life  to  determine  the  mean  mo- 
**  tion  of  the  Mandochcha ;  and  this  afTertion  is  jufti- 
**  fied  by  the  opinion  oi  Bhafcarachqrya.  But  the  rule 
**  of  proportion  could  not  have  anfwered  even  for  the 
**  planets ;  for,  although  their  mean  motion  be  ob- 
**  ferved  one  day,  and  again  the  next,  how  can  a  man 
**  be  certain  of  the  exadt  time  elapfcd  between  the  two 
••  obfervations  ?  And  if  there  be  the  fmalleft  error  in 
**  the  elapfed  time,  the  rule  of  proportion  cannot 
*^  anfwer  for  fuch  gteat  periods.  An  error  of  the 
to-millionth  part  of  a  fecond  (Ficala)  in  one  day, 
amounts  to  forty  degrees*  in  the  computation  of  a 
Calpa ;  and  the  miftake  of  i -tenth  of  a  refpiration  in 
one  Sai4ra  year,  makes  a  difference  in  the  fame  pe- 
riod of  20000  days.  That  it  is  therefore  evident, 
Brahmagupta^ s  motive  for  directing  the  planetary 
motions  to  be  computed  as  commencing  with  the 
Calpa ^  was  to  deceive  mankind,  and  that  he  had 
not  the  authority  of  the  Munis^  becaufe  he  differs 
^^  from  the  Surya  Siddhanta^  Brahma  Siddhanta,  Soma 
Syidhanta  \  from  Vaftjhtha^  and  other  Munis. 


« 

cc 
cc 


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» , 


"» »■  ■  H> 


The  errror  would  be  more  than  43* 


242     ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL   COMPUTATIONS 

**  Such  opinions  would  have  no  foundation,  as  [ 
**  (hall  proceed  to  (how.  lirahmagupta^s  rules  arc 
**  confiftent  with  the  praftice  of  the  Pandits  his  prfc- 
•'  deceflbrs ;  and  he  formed  them  from  the  Purana 
^^  Vijhnu  Dhcrmottaray  wherein  is  contained  the 
^*  Brahma  S'ulJhanta  ;  and  the  periods  given  by  ^/y- 
**  ahhatta  are  derived  from  the  Parafera  Sittdhanta : 
the  precepts  of  the  Munis  are  therefore  the  autho- 
rities of  Brahmagupia^  Aryabhaita^  and  Bhafca* 
racharya^  whofe  rules  cannot  be  deceitful.  The 
*^  Munis  themfclvcs  differed  with  regard  to  the  riUm- 
*'  bcr  of  Savan  days  in  a  Yugy  which  is  known  from 
*'  the  Pancha  &lddhanta^  compofed  by  P'ara  Acharya  \ 
**  wherein  are  propofcd  two  methods  of  computing 
**  the  fun's  place,  the  one  according  to  the  Si*ryd 
**  Slddhanta^  the  other  according  to  the  Romaca  SidJ' 
**  hania\  whence  it  appears  that  there  were  diife- 
^*  rent  niles  of  computation  even  among  the  Munis. 
*^  It  is  alfo  mentiAied  in  the  Tlra  on  the  Varaha 
"  Sanhl/ay  that ^  according  to  the  Patdajlya  Siddiania^ 
'^  there  was  fornierlv  a  different  number  of  Savon 
**  days  eflimated  in  a  )'//;'•.  The  maxims  therefore  of 
•*  Brahnagupia  and  the  other  two, agreeing  with  thofc 
"  of  the  Mioilsj  are  right ;  but,  Ihould  it  even  be 
fuppofed  that  the  Munis  thcmfelves  could  be 
miftaken,  yet  Brahnagupta  and  the  other  two  had 
"  the  fanftion  of  the  Vedusy  which  in  their  numerous 
Sac* has  (branches)  have  dilagreements  of  the  fame 
kind ;  and,  according  to  the  Sacalya  Sanhita^ 
**  Brahma^  in  tlie  revelation  he  made  to  Nared^  told 
him,  although  a  circumftance  or  thing  were  not 
perceptible  to  the  fenl'es,  or  rieconcileable  to  rea- 
*^  fon,  if  authority  for  believing  it  fliould  be  found 
**  in  the  VedaSy  itmuftbe  received  as  true. 

**  If  a  planet's  place,  computed  both  by  the  Surya 
•*  Siddhanta  and  Parafera  Siddhanta^  (hoiild  be  found 


OF   THE   HINDtTS*  14^ 

**  to  differ,  which  rule  muft  be  received  as  right  ? 
I  anfwer.  That  which  agrees  with  his  place 
by  obfervation  :and  the  Mttwi^  gave  the  fatnedi- 
^*  reftion.  If  computations  from  the  beginning  of 
*^  the  Calpiy  and  from  the  period  ftated  in  the  Surya 
^* .  Siddhanta  give  a  difference,  as  appears  in  the  in- 
*^  ftatMje  of  Mangalay  which  of  the  two  periods  to  be 
•*  computed  from  is  founded  in  truth  ?  1  fay  it  is 
**  of  no  confequence  to  us  which,  fince  our  ob- 
*^  jeft  is  only  to  know  which  period  anfwers  for  com* 
putation  of  the  planetary  places  in  our  time,  not 
at  the  beginning  of  the  Calpa.  The  difference  . 
found  in  computing  according  to  Brahmagupta  and 
the  Munis,  muft  be  corredted  by  an  allowance  of 
iija,  or  by  taking  that  difference  as  the  if/kepa  ; 
**  but  the  books  of  the  Munis  muft  not  be  al teredo 
*^  and  the  rules  given  by  Brahmagupta^  Varacharya^ 
and  AryahhaUa  may  be  ufed  with  fuch  precautions. 
Any  perfon  may  compofe  a  fet  of  rules  for  Ae  com- 
mon purpofes  of  aftronomy  ;  but,  with  regard  to- 
the  duties  neceffary  in  eclipfes,  the  computatioa 
*•  muft  be  made  by  the  books  of  the  Munis ^  and  the 
•'  hija  applied  j  and  in  this  manner  it  was  that  Vara^ 
**  ha^  Aryabhatta^  Brahmagupta,  and  Cefava  Samvaf-- 
^*  Jara,  having  obferved  the  planets  and  made  due  al-. 
lowance  oibija,  compofed  their  books. 


CC 
CC 
€€ 


CC 


•^ .  Cane/a  mentions,  that  the  Grahas  were  right  in 
**  their  computed  places  in  the  time  of  Brahma^ 
«*  Acharya,  Vasijhfha,  Cajyqpa,  and  others,  by  the 
**  rules  they  gave,  but  in  length  of  time  they  differed  ; 
**  after  whieh,  at  the  clofe  of  the  Satya  age,  Suryct 
^*  revealed  \oMeya  a  computation  of  their  true  places- 
*•  The  rules  then  received  anfwered  during  the  Treta 
•*  and  Dwapar  ages,  as  alfo  did  other  rules  formed 
*•  by  the  Munis  during  thofe  periods.  In  the  begiiu 
•f.  ningof  the  Gx/i  Yug^  Para/era'^  book  anfwered* 
l^  but  Atyahhattay^mzny  years  after,  having  examines 

Vot.  IL  ^ 


244  ON  THE   ASTRONOMICAL   COMPITTATIONS 

^^  the  heavens,  found  fome  deviation,  and  introdooed 
"  acorrcftion  of  bija.  After  him,  when  further  de- 
**  viations  were  obkrved,  Durga  Sinha^  Mihira,  and 
^'  others,  made  correftions.  After  them  came  the 
•*  fon  of  Jijlfm  and  Brahnaguptaj  and  made  correc* 
**  tions.  After  them  Cefava  fettled  the  pkures  cf 
^^  the  planets ;  and^  fixty  years  after  Cefava^  his  foA 
••  Gtf«^  made  corrections. '* 

We  have  now,  according  to  the  Hindu  (yftem,  the 
mean  motion  of  the  planets,  their  nodes  and  apfides, 
aind  the  elapfed  time  fince  they  were  in  coojunftioa 
in  the  firft  of  Me/ha^  with  which,  by  the  rule  of  pfo- 
portion,  to  determine  their  mean  longitude  for  Ojf 
propofed  timfe  of  the  prefent  year.  It  is,  however, 
obferved  in  the  Stirya  Siddhanta^  that  to  aflume  % 
period  fo  great  is  unnecefTary  ;  for  ufe,  the  computa- 
tion may  be  made  from  the  beginning  of  the  'ireta* 
age,  at  which  inllant  all  the  Grahas,  or  moveable 
points  in  the  heavens,  were  again  in  conjunftion  in 
Mejha^  except  the  apogees  and  afcending  nodes, 
which  mufl;  therefore  be  computed  from  the  creation.. 
The  fame  is  true  of  the  beginning  of  the  prefent  Ccilh 
age  ;  for  the  greatcft  common  divifor  of  the  number 
of  days  compofing  the  Maha  Yug  and  the  planetaiy 
revolutions  in  that  period,  is  four,  which  quotes 
394479457  days,  or  1080000  years;  and  the  Tr$la 
and  Dwapar  ages  contain  together  juft  that  number 
ofycars.  The  prefent  Hindu  aftronomers  therefore 
find  it  unnecefTary  to  go  farther  back  than  the-  begin- 
ning of  the  Call  Jug  *  in  determining  the  mean  lon- 


*  Neither  do  they,  in  computing  by  the  formulas 'in  oommoB 
life,  go  farther  back  than  to  fome  afligned  date  of  the  Kra  &ww; 
but,  having  the  planets  places  determined  for  that  point  of  timit 
thev  compute  their  mean  places  and  other  requifites  for  any  pro* 
poied  afterwards  by  tablesi  or  by  combinations  of  figures  eoa- 
triTcd  to  facilitate  the  work :  as  in  GrabalojfJkava^  Sa^Mama  Rs* 
hafya^  and  many  other  books.  An  enauirer  int«  Hindu  aftronomy 
having  acceis  to  iuch  bodu  obXj^  oiiftit  eafiiy  be  led  to  aflcrt 


CP   TH£   HINDUIS*  245 

^  gltude  of  the  planets  themfelves ;  but  for  the  pofi- 
tion  of  their  apfides  and  nodes^  the  elapfed  time  fince 
'the  creation  muft  be  ufed  ;  or  at  lead  in  inftances,  as 
Qfthefun^  when  the  numbers  387  and  432,000000 
are  incoajmenft.rable  but  by  unity,  I  have  however 
in  the  accompanying  computation^  taken  the  latter 
period  in  both  cafes. 

For  the  equation  of  the  mean  to  the  true  anomaly, 
in  which  the  folution  of  triangles  is  concerned,  and 
which  is  next  to  be  coniidered,  the  Hindus  make  u(e 
of  a  canon  of   fines,  conftrudted  according  to  the 
Surya  Siddhantaj  in  the  following  manner : — ^**  Divide 
^^  the  number  of  minutes  contained  in  one  fine  1800 
**  by  eight,  the  quotient  125  is  the  &r&  Jyapifida^  or 
*^  the  firft  of  the  twenty-fourth  portions  of  half  the 
"•*  fifing  of  the  bow.     Divide  the  firfl  Jjatinda  by 
/*  225,  the  quotient   i  deduft  from  the  aividend, 
•*  and  the  .remainder  224  add  to  the  firft  for  the  fe- 
*'  cond  Jyapinda  44  9.     Divide  the  fecond  Jyapinda 
<*  by  225,  the  quotient  being   i,  and  the  fraftion 
•^  more  than  half  a  minute,  deduft  2  from  the  fore- 
'^  going   remainder  224,   and  add  the  remainder 
*'  fo  found  to  the  fecond  for  the  third  Jyapinda  671. 
•*  Divide  this  by  225,  the  quotient  3  d^dud  fi"om 
*^  the  laft  remainder  222 ;    the  remainder  fo  found 
-**  219,  add  to  the  third  for  the  fourth  Jyapinda  890. 
•^  Divide  this  by  225,  and  the  quotient  deduft  from 
•'  the  laft  remainder;  the  remainder  fo  found  add 
to  ttie  fourth  for  the  fifth  Jyapinda  1 105,   and 
.proceed  in  this  manner  until  the  twenty-four  Cra^ 


cc 


lliaf  the  Brahmans  complete  eclipfes  lyfitforms^  couched  in  eni^ 
,mmticai verfesy  out  of  which  it  would  be  difficult  to  developc  their 
fyfiem  of  aftroDomy ;  and  this  I  apprehend  was  the  cafe  with  Moiif. 
S^^mcrat.  The  Jyotijb  Pandits  in  general,  it  is  tme,  know  little 
more  of  aftronomy  than  they  learn  from  fuch  books,  and  the^f 
are  confe<quently  very  ignorant  of  thb  principles  of  the  fcience  } 
\al  tbeie  are  fopie  to  be  met  with  who  are  better  informed, 

R  2 


246    OV  THE    ASTRONOMICAL   COMMUTATIONS 

^*  majyas  %  are  completed,  which  will  be  as  follows: 

14345  *  7  8 

**  225,449,671,  890,  1105,  1315,   1520,    1719, 

9  10  XX         IS  13  X4  x$  i€ 

**  1910, 2093^  2267, 2431, 2585, 2728, 2859,  ^978> 

17  tS        19  zo  £1        21  s|  24 

«    3084,3177,3256,3321,3372,3409,3431,3438, 

^^  For  the  utcramajy^j  the  twenty-third  cramajya 
*^  deducted  from  the  //i^'^  ot"  twenty-fourth  cramajya^ 
**  leaves  the  firft  nicramajya ;  the  twenty-fecond  dc- 
«^  dudcd  from  the  twenty-third,  leaves  the  fecond 
•*  uf cramajya ;  the  wenty-firft  from  the  twenty-fecond, 
•*  leaves  the  third ;  the  twentieth  from  the  twenty* 
firft;  leaves  the  fourth.  In  the  fame  manner  pro- 
ceed until  the  tUcramajyas  are  completed;    whidi 

I      at     3      4         5         ^7 
**  will  be  as  follows  .•  7,  29,  66,  117,  182,  261, 354, 

8  9         10        II  IX  .       13  14         .15  16 

«*  460,579,710,853,1007,1171,1345,1528,1719, 

17  s8  19  20  II  22  2J  24 

•«  1928,2123,2233,2548,2767,2989,3213,3438." 

So  far  the  Suiya   Siddhanta  on  the  fubjeft  of  the 
fines.     The  commentator  (hews  how  they  are  geome-> 
trically  conftrufted  : — "  With  a  radius  deferibe  e 
•*  circle,  th#  periphery  of  which  divide   into  21600 
•*  equal  parts,  or  minutes.     Draw  north  and  fouth, 
**  and  eaft  and  weft,  lines  through   the .  centre  :    fet 
•*  off  contrarywife  from  the  eaft  point,  225  on  the 
**  periphery,  and  draw  a  ftring  from  thofe  extremi- 
**  ties  acrofs  the  Irijya^.     The  ftring  is  thejj^-^,  and 
"  its  half  the  ardhajyu^  called  ;Vx;^?.     The  Pandits  fay, 
^*  a  planet's  place  will  corre^ond  with  thtardhajyai 
**  by  which,  therefore,   computations  of  their  places 
"  are  always  made  ;    and   by  the  term  jya  is  always 
*^  underftood  the   ardhajya.     The  firft  jya  will  be 
«*  found  to  contain  449  minutes,  and  the  operation, 
^  repeated  to  twenty-four  divifions,  will  complete  the 
•*  cramajya.     In  each  operation,   the  diftancc  con- 


J  Cramajyasy  right  Cnei  *  Utcramajyss,  Tcrfed  lines. 

A  Tryjya^  ihcradiuf. 


€€ 
€t 


OF  THE  HINDUS.  247 

**  taincd  between  the  jya  and  its  arc,  or  that  line 
•*  which  reprefents  the  arrow  of  a  bow,  muft  be  exa- 
^*  mined,  and  the  number  of  minutes  therein  con- 
^^  tained  and  taken  for  the  utcramajya.  The  circle 
may  reprefent  any  fpace  of  land  ;  the  hhujajya  *  is 
the  bhuja ;  the  cotijya  the  coi^  and  the  trijya  the 
**  carna.  The  fquare  of  the  hhujajya  dedufted  from 
^^  the  fquare  of  the  trijya^  leaves  the  fquare  of  the 
**  cotijya ;  the  root  of  which  is  the  cotijya ;  and,  in 
^^  the  fame  manner,  from  the  cotijya  is  determined  the 
^^  hhujajya.  The  cotyutcramajya  dedudled  from  the 
**  trijya^  leaves  the  hhujacramajya.  The  hhujot-crama" 
**  ha  dedufted  from  the  trijya  leaves  the  coticramajya. 
*•*  W'hen  the  hhujajya^  is  the  firft  divifion  of  the  trijya^ 
^*  the  cotijya  is  the  twenty-three  remaining  divifions ; 
*^  which  cotijya  deduded  from  the  trijyaj  leaves  the 
**  hhujotcramajya.  On  this  principle  are  the^^^  gi- 
*'  ven  in  the  text :  -f-  they  may  be  determined  by  cal- 
^  culation  alfo,  as  follows : 

**  The  trijya  take  as  equal  to  3438  minutes,  andcon- 
**  taining  twenty -iour  jyapindas ;  its  half  is  thtjya  of 
••  one  fine,  or  1719';  which  is  the  eighth  jyapinda^  or 
;••  the  fixteenth  cotijyapinda.  The  fquare  of  the 
**  trijya  multiply  by  three,  and  divide  the  produft  by 
*^  4,  the  fquare  root  of  the  qoutient  is  the  jya  of 
**  two  fines,  or  2977'.  '^^^  fquare  root  of  half  the 
^*  fquare  of  the  trijya  is  xhtjya  of  one  fine  and  an  half 
"  (45°)  or  2431  ;  which,  deducted  from  the  trijya^ 
•*  leaves  the  utcramajya  tooj\  By  this  utcramajya 
multiply  the  trijya ;  the  fquare  root  of  half  the  pro- 
duft  is  the  jya  of  22°,  30',  or  1 3 1 5''.  The  fquare 
ff  of  this  dedudt  from  the  fquare  of  the /rjjy^ ,  the 


€€ 

€€ 


*  Bhttj^yai  the  fine  complement. 

f  A  diagram  might  here  be  added  for  illuftration  ;  but  it  muft 
be  unneceflary  to  any  one  who  has  the  iinallefl  knowledge  of 
Geometry. 

R3 


248     OM    THE   ASTKOHOMICAI.    COMrUTATIOVS 

"  fquare  root  of  the  difference  is  the  ^j-a,  of  67",  i<f, 
"  or  3177'  which  is  the  cotijya  of  22°,  30'  equu  M 
*'  1315*  The  bhujajya  and  colijya  deducted  fevertllf 
*'  from  the  trtjyat  leaves  the  utcramajya  of  each  2123'i 
"  and  261'."— -&c. 

This  is  fufEcient  to  fhow,  that  the  Hiadus  hare  die 
right  conftrudion  of  the  fines,  although  thejr  do  not 
appear,  from  any  thing  I  can  Icani,  ever  to  fasre  ear- 
ned it  farther  than  to  twenty-four  divifioot  of  the  qui* 
drant,  as  in  the  following  table.  InfUaccs  of  the  like 
inaccuracy  will  occur  in  the  courfe  of  this  paper.  Tbt 
table  of  fines  may  perhaps  be  more  clearly  repre(eittcd 
ill  the  following  manner : 

Right  Sines,  the  Radius  contaimng  3438  Mimttet, 


Arc. 

Sln^ 

Arc. 

Sin; 

Af..               Bbt' 

ij=   "S-^^    3-^5 

9.h=ioi5=33°^S 
ioth=iiiO=37  ,30 

i7ih  =  3fli5  =  63''4jjo8f 

»d=  450=   7  ,3C 

109J 

i8th— 4050^67  ,3.    ;m 

3d=  67S  =  ".'J 

bV 

zib- 

4ih—  900— 1<  ,— 

.oll.-4soo=7S  r^mj 

jih=iii5-j8  A' 

.,a. 

61I1— .I3JO— It  ,3c 

:id  —4950=81  ,30  1+06 

■7'''=<s;i=i6  ,15 

i3d  — ii7s  =  S5  ,15  |«i. 

1719  16111=3600=66  ,— 11978 

t4tli-540D-9o  ,-  43* 

Verjed  Sines, 


Arc, 

Slnr 

A.c, 

Arc. 

1™. 

ift=   iij-^   s"^,- 

7 

[7th  =  ;8ij=Sj°,45 

rV*' 

*0~  J5°=   '■'' 

.i,h=M7!=4"   .'! 

«^- 

4.h-  900-,^,- 

:oih=4joo=7S  ^ 

L«i 

n'M 

«ih-,3?»=.ij,3( 

i»d  =--4r|5o— 8t  ,2t 

J%i 

uti- 

>j'J=i'75— as  ,15 

46.    i6th^i6Do==.6o   ,— 

J4'h=54'-''=9°  ,--<i*'S 

For  the  fines  of  the  intermediate  arcs,  take  a  mean 
proportion  of  the  tabular  difference,  as  for  the  fine  of 
14",  which  is  between  the  third  and  fourth  tabular  arcs,  r 
or  165   minutes  exceeding  the  third;  therefore  Z2$' 


r.  si, 


OF  THE    HINDUS.  249 

being  the  difference  of  thofe  arcs,  and  219  the  dif- 
ference of  their  fines,   '^^^"?  — i6q%  36'',  or  a  mean 

proportional  number,  to  be  added  to  the  fine  of  the 
third  tabular  arc,  for  the  fine  required  of  14%  or 
83 1'  36".  In  the  fexagefimal  arithmetic,  which  ap- 
pears to  be  univerfaily  ufed  in  the  Hindu  aftronoiftjr, 
when  the  ira£tion  exceeds  half  unity,  it  is  ufually 
faken  as  a  whole  number:  Thus,  831',  35^^,  35% 
would  be  written  83 1%  36. 

To  account  for  the  dpparent  unequal  motions  of  th<5 
.  planets,  which  they  fuppofe  to  move  in  their  refpec- 
tive  orbits  through  equal  diftances  in  equal  times,  the 
JSmius  have  recourfe  to  excentric  circles,  and  deter* 
mine  the  excentricity  of  the  orbits  of  the  fun  and 
moon  with  refpeft  to  that  ci^'cle,  in  which  they  place 
the  earth  as  the  centre  of  the  univerfe,  to  be  equal  to 
the  fines  of  their  greateft  anomaliftic  equations,  and 
accordingly  that  the  delineation  of  the  path  of  either 
jnay  be  made  in  the  following  manner  : 

Defcribe  a  circle,  which  divide  as  the  ecliptic  into 
figns,  degrees,  and  jninutes  j  note  the  place  of  the 
Jdandochcha^  or  higher  apfis,  which  fuppofe  in  ^  : 
draw  a  diameter  to  that  point,  and  let  off  firom  the 
centre  ®  towards  the  place  of  the  apogee,  the  excen- 
tricity equal  to  the  fine  of  the  greateft  equation,  which 
of  the  fun  is  130'  32'',  Here  the  excentricity  is  re- 
:  prefented  much  greater,  that  the  figure  may  be  better 
.,  underftood*  Round  the  point  E,  as  the  centre,  dc- 
5^  fcribe  thq  excentric  circle  FGHI,  which  is  the  fun's 
orbit,  and  in  the  point  H,' where  it  is  cut  by  the  line 
®  y  prolonged,  is  the  place  of  the  Mandochcha^  or 
higher  apfis  \  and  in  the  oppofite  point  F  is  the 
lower.  From  the  place  of  the  apogee  H,  fet  off  its 
longituck  in  reverfe,  or  contrary  to  the  order  of  the 
iigns,  for  the  beginning  of  Aries^  ^nd  divide  this 

R4 


%^0      ON  TUE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

circle,  as  the  former,  into  ligns  and  degrees.  Note 
the  fun's  mean  longitude  in  each  circle,  as  fuppofe 
in  Gemini^  and  from  both  points  draw  right  lines  to 
the  earth  at  ® .  According  to  the  Hindu  fy ftem^  which 
appears  to  be  the  fame  as  the  Ptolemaic^  the  angle 
a  ®  C  will  be  the  mean  anomaly,  the  angle  b  9  C 
the  true  anomaly,  and  the  angle  a  ®  b  their  differ- 
ence, or  the  equation  of  the  mean  to  the  true  place ; 
to  be  fubtraded  in  the  firfl  fix  iigns  oi  anomaly,  and 
added  in  the  lafl  fix.  The  Europeans^  in  the  old 
aftronomy,  found  the  angle  ^  ©  C  by  the  following 
proportion,  and  which  fubirafted  from  a  ®  C  \m 
the  equation,  which  as  the  Hindus^  they  inferted  in 
tables  calculated  for  the  feveral  degrees  of  the  qua- 
drant ; — ^as  the  co-fine  of  the  mean  anomaly  ®  e^=Ed 
added  to  the  excentricity  £  ©,  is  to  the  fine  of  tjw 
mean  anomaly  ae^bd^  fo  is  the  radius  to  the  tangent 
of  the  true  anomaly :  or,  in  the  right  angled*  triangle 
d  ®  hy\vi  which  are  given  d  ©  and  bd^  if  ^  ©  be  made 
radius,  bd  will  be  the  tangent  of  the  angle  b  ®  d^rt- 
quired*  The  Hhidus^  who  have  not  the  invention  of 
iangentSy  take  a  different  method,  on  principles  equal- 
ly true.  They  imagine  the  fmali  circle  or  epicycle, 
cdefy  drawn  round  the  planet's  mean  place  a  with  a 
radius  equal  to  the  excentricity,  which  in  this  cafe, 
of  the  fun,  is  130'  30%  and  whofe  circumference  in 
degrees,  or  equal  divifions  of  the  deferent  A  B  C  D, 
will  be  in  proportion  as  their  femi- diameters ;  or,  as 
©  C==3438',  to  A  BC  D=369'',  fb  ^^=130'  32'' to 
€fgd=z\o^  40*  which  is  called  iht  parlahi-arifa^  ox  pa* 
rtdhi  degrees.  In  the  fame  proportion  alfo  will  be 
the  correfpondent  fines  he  and  ai  and  their  co-fines 
cb  and  Ik^  which  are  therefore  known  by  compu- 
tation, in  minutes  or  equal  parts  of  the  radius  tf  ®, 
which  contains,  as  before  mentioned,  3438'.  In  the 
right  angled  triangle  Z?  ©  r,  right  angled  at  A,  there 
are  given  the  fides  A  ©  (=*=  ij  ©  +  <:  ^,  becaufe  cb^^^a) 


^ 


OF   THE    HINDUS.  I5I 

arid  7/  c;  to  find  the  hypotenufe  ^r  ©,  by  means  of 
which  the  angle  a  ®  m  may  be  determined ;  for  its 
fine  is  /  my  and,  in  the  fimilar  triangles,  c  A®  and 
/m  ©,  as  <:  ©  is  to  w  ©,  fo  is  A  c  to  /w,  the  fine  of 
the  angle  of  equation.  From  the  third  to  the  ninth 
fine  of  anomaly,  the  co-fine  c  h  muft  be  fubtradted 
from  the  radius  3438'  for  the  fide  A  ©. 

It  is,  however,  only  in  computing  the  retrograda- 
tions  and  other  particulars  refpefting  the  planets  Mer^ 
cury^  Venus  J  MarSy  Jupiter j  and  Saturn^  where  circles 
greatly  excentric  are  to  be  confidered,  that  the  Hindus 
find  the  length  of  the  carna^  or  hypotenufe  ^:  ©  ;  in 
other  cafes,  as  for  tlie  anomaliftic  equations  of  the  fun 
and  moon,  they  are  fatisfied  to  take  he  ^  equal  to  the 
fine  Im,  their  difference,  as  the  corhmentator  on  the 
Siddhanta  obferves,  being  inconfiderable. 

Upon  this  hypothefis  are  the  Hindu  tables  of  ano» 
maly  computed  with  the  aid  of  an  adjuftment,  which, 
as  far  as  I  know,  may  be  peculiar  to  themfelves.  Find- 
ing .that,  in  the  firft  degree  of  anomaly,  both  from 
the  higher  and  lower  apfis,  the  difference  between  the 
mean  and  obferved  places  of  the  planets  was  greater 
than  became  thus  accounted  for,  they  enlarged  the 
epicycle  in  the  apogee  and  perigee,  proportionably  to 
tl^at  obferved  difference  for  each  planet  refpeftively, 
conceiving  it  to  diminifh  in  inverfe  proportion  tp  the 
fine  of  the  mean  anomaly,  until  at  the  diftance  of  three 
fines,  or  half-way  between .  thofe  points,  the  radius  of 
the  epicycle  fhould  be  equal  to  the  excentricity  or  fine 
of  the  greateft  equation. ,  This  alTumed  difference  in 
the  magnitude  of  the  epicycle,  they  called  the  dif- 
ference of  the  paridhi  anfa^  between  vijhama  zxxdifama  \ 
the  literal  meaning  of  which  is  odd  and  even.  From 
the  firft  to  the  third  fign  of  anomaly,  or  rather  in  the 
third,  a  planet  is  in  vijhama\  from  the  third  to  the 


2^2  ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

fixth,  or  in  the  perigee,  in  Jafm\  in  the  ninth 
fign»  in  vl/hama ;  and  in  the  twelfth,  or  the  apogee, 
in  Jama.  Thtfaridhi  degrees,  or  circumference  of 
the  epicycle  xnfama  are,  of  the  fun  14°;  in  vijhama^ 
1 3°  40' ;  of  the  moon  \vifama  32° ;  in  vijhama^  3 1® 
40^ ;  the  difference  afligned  to  each  between^ma  u4 
vi/hama^  io\ 

To  illuftrate  thefe  matters  by  example,  let  it  be  re- 
quired to  find  the  equation  of  the  fun's  mean  to 
his  true  place  in  the  firfl  degree  of  anomaly.  Th^ 
line  of  i^  is  confidered  as  equal  to  its  arc,  or  60ii— ^ 
The  circumference  of  the  epicycle  xnjama^  or  the  afih 
gee^  is  1 4^,  but  diminifl^ing  in  this  cafe  towards  v^ 
ama,  in  inverfe  proportion  to  the  fine  of  anomaly,—^ 
Therefore,  as  radius  3438  is  to  the  difference  betweeq 
Jama  zndviJhama.2o\  (o  is  the  fine  of  anomaly  60'  the 
diminution  of  the  epicycle  in  the  point  of  anomaly 

propofed,    20''  (=  "    ^  )    which,  fubtra&ed    from 

14%  leaves  i^°  59'  40''-  Then,  as  the  circumference 
of  the  great  circle  360^  is  to  the  circumference  of  the 
epicycle  1 3°  59'  40'',  fo  is  the  fine  of  anomaly  60'  to 
its  correfpondent  fine  in  the  epicycle  A^;  which, 
as  was  obferved,  is  confidered  as  equal  to  /w,  or 
true  fine  of  the  angle  of  equation  2'  19"  56^* 
^_,i£_59^+f2')^  which,  in  the  Hhidu  canon  of  fines, 

is  the  fame  as  its  arc,  and  is  therefore  the  equation  of 
the  mean  to  the  true  place  in  i*  of  anomaly,  to  be  ad» 
ded  in  the  firfl  fix  fines,  and  fubtradted  in  the  lad  fix. 

For  the  equation  of  the  mean  to  the  true  place  iti  ' 
c^  14  of  anomaly.     The  fine  of  5®  14'  is   313'   36' 

8"' and  ii2ll££i^piiZL£i2:=i'49'',tobededuaed 

firom  the /)^r/^Ai  degrees  in  fama. — 14°  i  49''=i3®  ^g' 
xi^and  3i£>^^-^-4-»3-g,ii---^^79-59,37-^^^.  ^.  ^^..^^^^ 

fine  of  the  angle  of  equation,  which  is  equal  to  its  arc* 


OP  THE  HINDU'S*  JT^J 

For  the  fame  in  14°  of  anortlaljr.  The  fine  of  14*^^ 
is  83 1 .  36.-^^^^^  =  4'  50",  and.  l£^:^^^I^ 
=*:  32'  9''  the  fine  of  the  angle  of  equation. 

For  the  fame  in  two  fines  of  anomaly.  The  fine 
of  do-is  2978"i2^  17',  19";  and  H'-.T'.^^x.^.r 

=  113'  25"  20%  the  fine  of  equation,  equal  to  its 
arc. 

For  the  equation  of  the  mean  to  the  true  place  of 
the  nioon  in  1°  of  anomaly.  The  paridhi  degrees  of 
the  moon  mfama^Q  32°,  invi/hania  31°,  40',  the 

difference  20".     The  fine  of  i^  is  60'  and  .^2:^=2  j" 

to  be  dedufted  from  i\iQ  paridhi,  degrees  injamay  32** 

^zV  =  31°  59'  39".  ^■°  ?^;,y^'  =  5/  ao",  the 

equation  required. 

For  the  feme  in  ten  degrees  of  anomaly.  The  fine 
ef  lo"^  is  597'  522!^'  =  3'  28,  atod  ^^''-s/fx^/ 

'  3438  -'^  '  390" 

s=  52'  28",  the  equation  required^ 

^  For  the  fame  in  three  fines  of  anomaly.  The  fine 
of  90^  is  the  radius  or  3438',  and  ^^^  ^^ ^  =  ao', 

^""^^^t^^^^^  ^  y^^''  ^^'  ^"^^  ^^^^  ^^  *^  greateft 
angle  of*equation,  equal  to  the  radius  of  the  epicycle 
in  this  point  of  anomaly,  the  arc  correfponding  with 
which  is  362'  45'',  the  equation  required. 

For  the  equation  of  the  mean  to  the  true  motion 
in  thefe  feveral  points  of  anomaly,  fay,  as  radius  3438 
is  to  the  mean  motion,  fo  is  the  Co-fine  ^:  ^  of  the 
anomaliflic  angle^^^  in  the  epicycle,  to  the  dif- 
ference between  the  me^n  and  apparent  motbn,  or 
the  equation  required,    to  be  fubtraded  from  the 


254      OK  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

mean  motion  from  thefirfl  thiee  fines  of  anomaly; 
added  in  the  next  fix,  and  fubtraded  in  the  laft 
three. 

Example^  for  the  fun,  in  5^  1 4'  of  anomaly.  The 
co-fine  of  5°  1 4' in  the  Hindu  czxion  is  3422'  17''  52^'. 
The  paridhi  circle  in  this  point,  found  before,  is  I3« 

58'  ii'^;  and  ^^^"^-^^y^^^"^  =    132'  48,"  the 

co-fine  c  h  in  the  epicycle;  then,  as  radius  343S 
is  to  the  fun's  mean  motion  59'  8''  per  day,  or 
59"  8"  per  danda^  fo  is  the  co-fine  ^  J  =  132'  48", 
to  the  equation  required,  ^'  17"  per  day,  or  2*^  17*^ 
per  danda.  The  motion  of  the  fun's  apfis  is  (b  flow 
as  to  be  negleded  in  thefe  calculations ;  but  that  of 
the  moon  is  confidered,  in  order  to  know  her  mean 
motion  from  her  apogee,  which  is  783'  54". 

In  this  manner  may  be  determined  the  equation  of 
the  mean  to  the  true  anomaly  and  motion  for  each 
degree  of  the  quadrant ;  and  which  will  be  found  to 
agree  with  the  tables  of  Macaranda.  The  following 
tables  are  tranflated  from  that  book : 


OF    THE    HINDUS. 


255 


Solar  Equations,  Rdvip'hala. 


I 


£q.  of  the 
mean  to  the 
true  place. 


1 


o{  O 

I 

2 

3 
4 

5 

6 

7 
8 

9 
10 

IX 

12 
13 

II 

18 

»9 

20 

21 
22 

^3 

^5 

26J 

27 
28 

39 


2 
4 
7 

9 

II 

13 

16 

18 
20 

^3 

*5 

^7 

^9 

3» 

34 
36 

38 
41 
43 
45 
47 
49 
SJ 
53 
55 
58 


E^.  of  the 
mean  to 
the  true 
motion. 


20 
40 

«9 

37 
56 

^5 

33 

5» 

7 

^3 

39 

55 
10 

24 

37 

39 
1 

12 

22 

3» 
39 
47 

53 

57 
I 


I 
I 
I 
I 


^  53 

4     3 
6     2 


1 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

I 

I 

I 


Ml 

6 

o 

c 


18 

x8 

18 

X7 

17 

17 
16 

16 
IS 

13 

13 
12 

II 

Ji 

10 

9 
8 

7 
6 

6 

S 

3 

2 

I 

$7 


Eq.  of  the 

mean  to  the 

true  place 


31 

3* 
33 
34 

35 
36 

37 
38 

39 

40 

4X 

42 

43 
44 

45 

46 

47 

48 

49 
50 
51 

52 

5^ 
54 
55 

5^ 
5^ 
58 

59 

60I 


// 


Eq.ofthe 
mean  to 
the  true 
moti9D. 


// 


I  8  — 

'  9  57 

I  II  57 

I  13  47 

I  15  40 

I  17  32 

I  19  23 

I  21    II 

I  22  57 

I  24  42 

I  26  26 

X  28  7 

I  29  46 

I  31  23 

I  32  58 

2  34  3a 

I  36   V  I 

«  37  35  ' 

I  39  ^ 

I  40  36 

I  42  3 

I  43  26 

I  44  45 

I  46  2 

I  47  17 

I  48  33 

I  49  47 

I  51  - 

T 

I  52  12 

f 

I  5^  2«; 

1    ■ 

(0 

i 


55 

S3 

S3 

5^ 

5« 

49 

47 

45 

43 

4^ 
40 

38 

36 

34 
32 
30 

28 
28 
26 

^3 

19 
16 

14 

^3 

13 
12 

II 

II 

8 


Eq.  of  the 

mean  to  the 

true  place. 


61 

62 

I63 

64 

66 

67 
68 

69 

70 

71 
7^ 
73 
74 

75 
76 

77 
78 

79 
8u 

81 

82 

83 
84 

8S 
86 

B7 

88 

"89 

QO 


// 


I 

z 
z 
I 

I 
I 

2  • 

2 
2, 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

2 

-2 

2 

2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 
2 


54  30 

55  34 
S^  3 

57  34 
68  3d 

59  30 
~  23 


I 
2 
2 

3 

4 
4 

I 

6 

7 
7 


14 
4 


Eq.  of 

the 
meanto 
the  true 
motion. 


r/ 


5« 

35 
17 

57 

35 
12 

45 

17 

45 
8  12 

8  36 

8  58 


18 
36 

51 


z 
I 


9 
9 

9 

10  3 

10  13 
10  20 
10  27 
10  31 


58 

57 
55 
55 

5^ 

49 
46 

43 

41 

39 

37 

35 

32 

31 
28 

^5 

^3 
22 

2Q 
18 

^5 
12 

10 

8 
6 

4 


256    ON  THE    ASTRONOMICAL    COMPCTTATIOKS 


Lunar  Equations^  Chandra  fhala 


s 

O 
C 

< 


Eq.  of  the 
mean  to 
true  place. 


them 


*Eq.  ot 

the 

ean  to 
the  true 
motion. 


>. 


Eq.  of  the 
mean  to  the 
true  place. 


£q.  ot 

the 

mean  to 

the  true 

motion. 


"S  ;  Eq.of  the 
£'  mean  to  the 
c    true  place. 


OF   THE  HINDITS.  IgJ 

Having  the  true  longitude  of  the  fun  and  moon, 
and  the  place  of  the  node  determined  by  the  methods 
explained,  it  is  eafy  to  judge,  from  the  pofition  of  the 
latter,  whether  at  the  next  conjundion  or  oppofitipa 
there  will  be  a  folar  or  lunar  eclipfe  ;  in  which  cafe 
the  /i/'Ai,  or  date  of  the  moon*s  fynodical  month,  muft 
be  computed  from  thence,  to  determine  the  time 
counted  from  midnight  of  her  full  or  change.  Her  dif- 
tance  in  longitude  from  the  fun,  divided  by  720,  the 
minutes  contained  in  a  //V^Ai,  -or  the  thirteenth  part  of 
360^,  the  quotient  (hews  the  tifhi  (he  has  paffed,  and 
the  fraftion,  if  any,  the  part  performed  of  the  next ; 
which,  if  it  be  the  fifteenth,  the  difference  between 
that  fraiStion  and  720'  is  thediftance  (he  has^t(^  gc  to 
her  oppofition,  which  will  be  in  time  proportioned  to 
her  aftua^  motion ;  and  that  being  determined,  her 
longitude,  the  longitude  of  the  fun,  and  place  of  the 
iK)de  may  be  known  for  the  inftant  of  full  moon,  or 
middle  of  the  lunar  eclipfe.  The  Hindu  method  of 
computing  thefe  particulars  is  fo  obvious  in  the  ac-^ 
compaibying  inftance,  as  to  require  no  further  defcrip- 
tion  here  ;  and  the  fame  may  be  faid  with  re(ped:  to 
the  declination  of  the  fun  and  the  latitude  of  the  moon* 

It  is  evident  from  what  has  been  explained,  that 
the  Pandits y  learned  in  the  Jyotijh  Safira^  have  truer  no- 
tions of  the  form  of  the  earth  and  the  economy  of  the 
univerfe  than  are  afcribed  to  the  Hindus  in  general : 
and  that  they  muft  rejeft  the  ridiculous  belief  of  the 
common  Brahmas^  that  eclipfes  are  occafioncd  by  the 
.  intervention  of  the  monfter  Rahuy  with  many  other  par- 
ticulars equally  unfcientific  and  abfurd.  But,  as  this 
belief  is  founded  on  explicit  and  pofitive  declarations 
contained  in  the  Vedas  and  Puranasy  the  divine  autho- 
rity of  which  writings  no  devout  Hindu  can  difpute, 
the  aftronohiers  have  fome  of  them  cautioully  explained 
fuch  paflages  in  thofe  writings  as  difagree  with  the 


158   ON    THE    ASTRONOMICAL    COMPUTATIONS 

principles  of  their  own  fcience  ;  and,  where  reconcilia- 
tion  was  impoffihle,  have  apologized,  as  well  as  they 
could,  for  propofitions  neceilarily  eftabliftied  in  the 

SracVice  of  it,  by  obferving  that  certain  things,  as 
ated  in  othtv  Sajiras^  "  might  have  been  fo  formerly, 
*<  and  may  be  fo  flill ;  but  for  aftronomical  purpofes, 
**  aftronomical  rules  mufl:  be  followed.*'  Others  have, 
with  a  bolc'er  fpirit*  attacked  and  refuted  unphiloTo- 
phical  opinions.  ■  Bhafcara  argues,  that  it  is  more  rca- 
fonable  to  fuppofe  the  earth  to  be  feif-balanced  in  infi- 
nite fpace,  than  that  it  iho'jld  be  fupported  by  a  feries 
of  animals,  with  nothing  afTignable  for  the  lad  of  them 
to  reft  upon;  And  Nerafiuha^  in  his  commentary, 
(hews  that  by  Rahi  and  CctUy  the  head  and  tail  of  the 
monfter,  in  the  fenfe  they  generally  bear,  coiild  only 
be  meant  the  pofiiion  of  the  moon's  nodes  and  tlft 
quantity  of  her  latitude,  on  which  echpfesdo  certain^ 
depend  j  but  he  docs  not  therefore  deny  the  reality  rf 
Rahu  and  Cetu :  on  the  contrary,  he  fays,  that  their  • 
actual  exiftence  and  prefencc  in  eclipfes  ought  to  be  be-  • 
Jieved,  and  may  be  maintained  as  an  article  of  faith, 
without  any  prejudice  to  ailronomy.  The  following' 
Sloca^  to  which  a  literal  tranflation  is  annexed,  was  evi- 
dently written  by  a  Jyot'ijh^  and  is  well  known  to  the 
bandits  in  general : 

Vifhalanyanyajcijlruni^  ircadujlefnu  cevalam : 
Safhalam  jyohjluim  fajlrani^  chtindrarcauyatra  Juc* 

•^  Fruitlefs  are  all  other  SaJIras  ;  in  them  is  conten- 
tion only.  Fruitful  is  the  Jyolijh  Sajira^  where  the 
fun  and  moon  ^r#twovvitnefles. 

The  argument  of  VaraJuiacharya  concerning  the 
xnonlter  Rahu^  might  here  be  annexed,  but^  as  this 


OF  THE  HINDUS*  2$^ 

paper  will  without  it  be  fufficiently  prolix,  I  fliall 
next  proceed  to  (how  how  the  aftronomical  Pandits 
determine  the  moon's  diftance  and  diameter,  and  other 
requifites  for  the  prediftion  of  a  lunat  eclipfe. 

X  « 

The  earth  they  confider  as  fpherical,  and  imagine 
its  diameter  divided  into  1600  equal  parts,  or  lojanas. 
An  ancient  method  of  finding  a  circlets  circumference 
was  to  multiply  the  diameter  by  three ;  but  this  being 
not  Quite  enough,  the  Munis  directed  that  it  lliould  be 
multiplied  by  the  fquare  root  of  ten.  This  gives  for 
the  equatorial  circumference  of  the  earth  in  round 
nUiiibers  5059  Yojanas^  as  it  is  determined  in  the  Su- 
fya  Siddhanta.  In  the  table  of  fines,  however,  found 
ill  the  fame  book,  the  radius  being  made  to  confifl  of 
3438  equal  parts  or  minutes,  of  which  equal  parts 
the  quadrant  contains  5400,  implies  the  knowledge 
of  a  much  more  accurate  ratio  of  the  diameter  to  the 
circumference;  for  by  the  firft  it  is  as  i  ♦  to  3. 1 6.2  7.  &c, 
by  the  laft,  as  i.  to  3.  14136;  and  it  is  determined 
by  the  moft  approved  labours  of  the  Europeans^  as 
1.  to  3.  14159,  &c.  In  the  Puranas  the  circum- 
ference of  the  earth  is  declared  to  be  500,060,000 
Yojans ;  and,  to  account  for  this  amazing  difference, 
the  commentator  before  quoted  thought,  *^  the  Yojan 
^^  ftated  in  the  Siirya  Siddhanta  contained  each 
100,000  of  thofe'  meant  in  the  Puranas  \  or  per- 
haps, as  fome  fuppofe,  the  earth  was  really  of  that 
•*  fize  in  fome  former  Calpa.  Moreover,  others  lay, 
**  that  from  the  equator  fouthward,  the  earth  increa- 
^*  fes  in  bulk :  however^  for  aftronomical  purpofes, 
«*  the  dimenfions  given  by  Surya  muft  be  ajTumed.'* 
The  equatorial  circumference  being  afiiigned,  the 
circumterence  of  a  circle  of  longitude  in  any  latitude 
is  determined.  As  radius  3438  is  to  the  Lamhajya 
or  fine  of  the  polar  diftance,  equal  to  the  complete- 
ment  of  the  laj;iti;|de  to  ninety  degrees^  fo  is  the  equa<» 
Vol,  II.  S 


cc 


a6o      ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPITT ATIONS 

torial  dimenfion  5059,  to  the  dimenfion  in  Yojarti 
required. 

Of  a  variety  of  methods  for  finding  the  latitude  of 
a  place,  one  is  by  an  obfervation  of  the  palabha^  or 
fbadow,  projeded  from  a  perpendicular  Gnomon  when 
the  fun  is  in  the  equator.  The  Sancu^  or  Gnomon^  is 
twelve  angulas^  or  digits,  in  length,  divided  ^u:h 
into  iixty  vingulasy    and  the  Ihadow   obferved  tl 

A      V  ^ 

Benares  is  5,  45.      Then,  by  the  proportion  of  % 

A     V 

right  angled  triangle  \/i2^  *  +  5,45.  =  13  i8,tlije 
acjha  caina  (hypotenufe)  or  diftance  from  the  top(^ 
tiie  Gnomon  to  the  extremity  of  the  Ihadow ;  whi(& 
take  as  radius,  and  the  projected  fhadow  will  be  the 
fine  of  the  zenith  diftance,  in  this  cafe,  equal  to  the 

latitude  of  the  place  21i?iSJfi— 1487,  the  arc  cone- 

13 18 
fponding  with  which,  in  the  canon  of  fines,  is  25*26',' 

the  latitude  of  Benares.      The  fine  complement  of 

the  latitude  is  3101'  57'',  and  again  by  trigonometry 

i^2ili^^i2Ji==4565,  4  logans  the  circumference 
of  a  circle  pf  longitude  in  the  latitude  of  Benares. 

The  longitude-  is  direfted  to  be  found  by  obferva* 
tjon  of  lunar  eclipfes  calculated  for  the  firfl  meridian, 
whicl}  the  Surya  Suhlhanta  defcribes  as  paffing  ovct 
JLanca^  RohUacUy  Avanli^  and  Sanmhita-faras.  jivanA- 
is  faid  by  the  commentator  to  be  "  now  called  V^y*. 
imi^^  or  Otigein,  a  place  well  known  to  the  EftgUfi  ia 
^e  Mahrutta  dominions.  The  diftance  of  Benares 
from  this  meridian  iafaid  to  be  (ixty-four  Yojafts  eafl>N 
ward;  and  as  4565  YojanSy  a  circle  of  longitude  at; 
Be?tares,  is  to  fixty  dandaSy  the  natural  day^  fb  is^ 

fixty-fou'r  Yo/ans  to  o,  50,  the  difference  of  longi- 
tude in  time,  which  marks  the  time  after  inidni^ti 
when^  ftridtly  fpeaking,  the  aftronomical  day  begins 


or  tH£  fiiv^Dtrj.  sttt 

at  Benares^.     A  total  lunar  eclipjfe  was  obfenred  to 
happen  at  Benares  fifty-one  palas  later  than  a  calcuU-^ 

tion  gave  it  for  Lanca^  and  ""^^^^  '*'  =  fixty  -  foti't' 

Yojanuy  the   difference  of  longitude  on  the  earth^'s 
furface. 

■  .*■ 
AccordiAg  to  RenneTs  map,  in  which  niay  be  found 
Ougehiy  and  agreeably  to  the  longitude  affigned  to 
Benares^  the  equinoftial  point  Lanca  fells  in  the  Eai):* 
cm  Ocean,  fouthward  from  Ceylon  and  t\it  Maldiva, 
Iflands.  Lanca  is  fabuloufly  reprefented  as  one  erf" four 
cities  built  by  Devatas^  at  equal  diftanees  from  eath 
other,  and  alfo  from  Stmeru  and  Badawanal,  the 
north  and  fouth  poles,  whofe  walls  are  of  gold,  &c» 
and  with  refpeft  to  Meya^s  performing  his  famous  de- 
votions, in  reward  of  which  he  received  the  aftrono- 
mical  revelations  from  the  fun,  recorded  in  the  Surya 
Siddhanta^  the  commentator  obferves,  *^  he  performed 
*'  thofe  devotions  in  Salmala^  a  country  a  little  to  the 
*'  caftward  of  Lanca:  the  dimenfions  of  Lanca  are 
•*  equal  to  one  twelfth  part  of  the  equatorial  circumfe- 
**  rence  of  the  earth,'*  &c.  Hence,  perhaps  on  in- 
quiry, may  be  found  whether  by  Salmala  is  not  meant 
Ceylon.  In  the  hiftory  of  the  war  of  Raina  with  Ra* 
wan,  the  tyrant  of  Lanca,  the  latter  is  (aid  to  have 
married  the  daughter  of  an  Afura,  named  Meya :  but 
thefe  difquifiiions  are  foreign  to  my  purpofe. 

For  the  dimenfions  of  the  moon's  cacjia  (jftrbit)  the 
rule  in  the  Sanfcrit  text  is  more  particular  than  is  ne- 
ccflary  to  be  explained  to  any  perfon  who  has  informed 

■  '  I    I  I  ■         ■  -■  ■        ■■  I         ■■  II  ■■!■  IMI  ■  ■       11  ■  ■■■  — 1— >— ^ 

t 

^  '*  This  day  {afironomical  day)  is  accounted  to  begin  at  mid* 
'*  Didit,  under  the  rec^ba  (meridian)  of  Lanca  i  and  at  all  placed 
^'  eaft  or  weft  of  that  meridian,  as  much  fooneror  later  as  is  theif 
«*  defantera  (longitude)  reduced  to  time,  according  to  the  Surym^ 
^  Siddbanta^  Brahma  Stddhanta,  VdJiJhtha  Siddhanta^  Soma  Sidd* 
^  bant 2^  Parnfiro  Siddbanta^  and  Aryabbatia.  AcQprding  to  Brab^ 
^  magupfta  and  others,  it  begins  at  funrife ;  according  to  the  Ra^ 
^  maca  and  others,  it  begins  at  noon  ;  and  according  to  ^is^ArJh^ 
**  Siddbamts,  at  iuoiet/'     (7/ivr  on  the  Surya  Siddbanta). 

S2 


262   ON    THfc    AbTRONOMICAL    COMPUTATIOrS 

himfelf  of  the  methods  ufed  by  European  aftrdlicv 
mers  to  determine  the  moon's  horizontal  parallax*  la 
general  terms,  it  is  to  obfcrve  the  moon's  altitude, 
and  thence,  with  other  requifites,  to  compute  the  ticne 
sind  her  afcenfion from  the  rcnlible  cJh'iUja^  or  horizon, 
and  her  diftance  from  the  fim  when  upon  the  rational 
horizon,  by  which,  to  find  the  time  of  her  paflage  from 
the  one  point  to  the  other;  or,  in  other  words,  *  to 
*  find  the  difference  in  time  between  the  meridian  to 
which  the  eye  referred  at  her  rifing,  and  the  meridian 
fhe  was  actually  vipon  /  in  which  difference  of  tinac 
(he  will  have  paffed  throitgh  a  fpncc  equal  to  the  earth's 
femidiameter  or  Soo  Y^jjiui :  and  by  proportion,  as  that 
time  is  to  her  periodical  month,  lo  is  Sco  YojmilQXht 
circumference ot  licr  (:^/<y//*/,  324000  Yojim.  The  errors 
arifing  from  rdiaaion,  and  their  taking  the  moon's 
motion  as  alons  the  fine  indcaJ  of  ii!^  arc,  mavherebc 
remarked ;  but  it  docs  not  fccm  that  they  had  any 
idea  of  the  firfl*  ;  :ind  the  latter  they  perhaps  thought 
too  inconfiderable  to  be  noticed.  Hence  it  appears 
that  they  made  the  horizontal  parallax  ^;^'  20",  and  hcf 
diliance  from  the  earth's   centre  51370    Yojan ;  for 

"—■53  20  ;  ana  as  oo'  or  C400  is  totheradms 

3458,  fo  is  one-fourth  of  her  orbit  81000   Yojan  to 

ci:;7o,   and ------- ™"  1=220184,    ^'hc  fame  diftance 

in  geographical  miles.  Europeaii  aftronomcrs  com- 
pute the  mean  dilLuice  of  the  moon  about  240000, 
which  is  Ibmething  above  a  fifteenth  part  more  than 
the  Hindus  found  it  fo  long  ago  as  the  time  of  Meya^ 
the  author  of  the  Siivya  S'hfdhauta. 

By  the  JTmdu  lyftem  the  planets  are  fuppofed  to 
move  in  their  rcfpcctive  orbits  at  the  fame  rate  ;  the 
dimenlions    therefore    of   the   moon's    orbit    being 


*  Kut  they  are  not  wholly  ignorant  of  oprics  :  ihey  known  the 
angle  s  of  hcuknce  and  rrficBion  to  be  cqnal,  and  compute  the 
phcc  of  a  ftar  or  planet,  as  it  would  be  fccii  reftcdcd  from  vratcc 

•r  a  mirror. 


'    '    '  OF    THE    HINDUS.  263 

known,  thofe  of  the  other  planets  are  determined,  ac- 
cording to  their  periodical  rfevolutlons^  by  proportion. 
As  the  fun's  revohitions  in  a  Maha  Yug  4320000  afc 
ro  the  moon's  revolutions  in  the  fame  cycle  5753356* 
fo  is  her  orbit  324000  Yojanio  the  fim's  orbit  4331 500 
Sojan ;  and  in  the  fame  manner  for  the  <^acjhas^  or  or* 
bits,  of  the  other  planets.  All  true  diftance  and  mag- 
nitude derivable  from  parallax,  is  here  out  of  the  quef^ 
tion  ;  but  the  Hindu  hypothefis  will  be  found  to  an- 
iwer  their  purpofe  in  determining  the  duration .  of 
cclipfes,  &c. 

For  the  diameters  of  the  fun  and  moon,  it  is  dirofted 
to  obferve  the  time  between  the  appearance  of  the  limb 
upon  the  horizon  and  the  inftant  of  the  whole  diik 
being  rifen,  when  their  apparent  motion  is  at  a  meaa 
rate,  or  when  in  three  figns  of  anomaly ;  then,  by 
proportion,  as  that  time  is  to  a  natural  day,  fo  are  their 
orbits  to  their  diameters  refpeftively ;  which  of  the  fun 
is  6500  Yojan;  of  the  moon,  480  Yojan.  Thefe 
dimenficms  are  increafed  or  diminifhed  as  they  ap- 
proach the  lower  or  higher  apfis,  in  proportion  as  their 
apparent  motion  exceeds  or  falls  (hort  of  the  mean,  for 
the  purpofe  of  computing  the  diameter  of  the  earth's 
(hadow  at  the  moon,  on  principles  which  may  perhaps 
l)e  made  more  intelligible  by  a  figure. 

Let  the  earth's  diameter  be  lm=gh=cd ;  the  dif- 
tance of  the  moon  from  the  earth  AB,  and  her  diameter 
C  D.  By  this  fyftem,  which  fuppofes  all  the  planets 
moving  at  the  fame  rate,  the  dimenfions  of  the  fun's 
orbit  will  exceed  the  moon's,-  in  proportion  as  his  pe-^ 
riod  in  time  exceeds  hers ;  let  his  diftance  be  AE,  and 
EFG  part  of  his  orbit.^  According  to  the  foregoing 
computation  alfo,  the  fun's  apparent  diameter  fi,  at 
this  diftance  from  the  earth,  is  6500  Yyani  or  rather, 
the  angle  his  diameter .  fubtends  when  viewed  in 
three  figns  of  anomaly,  would  be  6500  parts  of  thQ 

S3 


264     ON  THE  ASTROKOMICAt  COMFUTATIOHS 

circumference  of  a  circle  confifliog  of  4331500,  aad 
defcribed  roqnd  the  earth  as  a  centre  with  a  tadiu) 
equal  to  his  mean  diftance,  which  is  properly  all  that 
IS  meant  by  the  vi/hcambha^  and  wliich,  therefore,  M 
increafed  or  diminithed  according  to  his  equated  mo^ 
tion.     Tbi^in  three  iigns  of  anomaly  is  equivalent  to 
%%'  24";  for,  as  4331500.10  360°,  fo  6500  to  32' 24^ 
The  JSuropians  determine  the  fame  to  be  32^"  22'^    la 
the  fame  manner,  the  fun's  vijhcambha  in  the  mean 
Cfujka  of  the  moon,  or  the  portion  of  her  orbit  in  Yo- 
jan$9  included  in  this  angle,  is  found,  ^s  4331500 
is  to  324000,  fo  is  6500  to  486  Yyan  or  »,  0,  of  ufe 
in  folar  eclipfes  i  but  this  I  am  endeavouring  to  ez« 
plain  is  a  lunar  one.     It  is  evident  that  the  diameter 
of  the  earth's  (hadpw  at  the  moon .  will  be  c^  d^'-^-^^ 
a+bf  d^  or  a  ^  when  her  diftance  is  ^^;  and  that 
c  a  and  k  d  will  be  found  by  the  following  proportion ) 
as  ^i  is  tofir—g  i=fg  +  k  U  (o\^  A  eto  c  a+b  di 
But  it  has  been  obferved  that  Ak  and/;'  are  propor- 
tioned by  the  BmdiLS  according  to  the  moon's  diftaoA 
A  By  the  apparent  motion  of  the  fun  and  moon,  ahd 
the  angles  fubtended  by  their  diameters.     The  Hmdn 
rule  therefore  ftates.  As  the  fun's  vijhcambha  or  dia-^ 
meter  is  to  the  moon's,  fo  is  the  difference  of  the  diat 
n^eters  of  the  fun  and  earth,  in  Yojaris^  to  a  fourth 
number,  equal  to  ^  ^  +  ^  ^jf  to  be  fubtraded  from  the 
ficchij  or  lmz=zcd  to  find  a  b ;  alfo,  that  the  number  of 
Yojansj  thus  determined  as  the  diameters  of  the  moon 
and  (hadaw,  may  be  reduced  to  minutes  of  a  great  cir-- 
cle  by  a  divifion  of  fifteen.     For,  as  the  minutes  con- 
tained in  36o'^=2i6oo,  are  to  the  mood's  orbit  in  Yo* 
jan  324000,  fo  is  one  minute  to  fifteen  Yojan. 

The  diameter  of  the  moon's  difk,  of  the  earth's 
ihadovv,  and  the  place  of  the  node  being  found  ibr 
the  inilont  ot  oppoution  or  full  moon,  the  remaining 


OF    THE    HINDUS*  2^^ 

p&rt  0f  th$  operation  differs  in  no  refpedb  that  I  know 
of  from  the  method  of  European  aftronomers  to 
compute  a  lunar  eclipfe..    The  tranflation  of  the  For- 
mula for  this  purpoie,  in  the  Surya  Siddkafi^^  is  as 
follows :    "  The  earth's  (hadow  js  always  fix  figns 
•*  diftant  from  Surya ;  and  Chandra  is  eclipfed  when- 
•'  evfer  at  ihcfumirka  the  pata  i$  found  thfere;    as  is 
*^  alfo  Surya,  whenever  at  the  ehd  ot  the  ppiavqfya  the 
^^pata  is  found  in  the  place  of  Sutya',  or,  in  either 
^^  cafe,  when  th^  fata  is  nearly  fo  fituated.     At  the 
•^  .end  of    the   amavajy4  iifH  the  fignsi    d^ces^ 
<*  and  triinutts  of  Surya  and  Ch^tii^ra  are  equal ;  and 
*^  at  the  end  .ot  thcfumimd  tifHi^  the  difference  is  ex- 
^^  ai&ly  fix  fisns ;  take  therefore  the  tinie  unexpired 
•*  of  either  or.  those  tiflti^f  and  the  motion  for  that 
^*  time  add  to  the  tnadkyanM,  and  th$  degrees  and  mi^ 
<^  nutes  of  Surya  an^  Chandra  will  IpQ  pqi^al.    For 
^<  the  &me  ih(tants  of  time  compute  the  plac$  ot  tho 
**  fata  in  its  retrograde  motiqiiy  and,  if  it  ,Qipuki  ^  in 
••  conjun&ion  with  Surya  and  Chandra ^^fiatvi,  as  from 
^  the  intervention  of  a  cloud,  there ^will  be  an  bblcu- 
••  rlty  of  Surya  or  of  Chandra.     Chahdrai  from  .the 
♦*  weft,  approaches  fronft  the  (iftrth's  (hadow,  whidi  orj 
*«  entering,  he  isobfcured.  For  theinftant  of  the  j&ttri- 
•^  K/TWtf,  from  the  half  fum  of  the  chandramana  and  the 
<^  tam^lifUnriwa  fubtnM^t  the  vicfii^ay  the  remainder  is 
**  the  cVchmnai    If  the  cVchanM  is  greater  *  than  the 
^^  grai^a^tanaf  the  eclipTe  will  be  total  j,  and  if  le(s^  the 
•*  cd}pfe wi^  be  pi»oportk)nabIy  lefs.    The  grahya  and 
^*  grahacik  (fedua  smd  9^0  add ;  fquafe  the  difference 
**  and  tho  ftmi  feverdiy  j  fubtraft  the  fquare  oS  the 
^^  t^ii^ftgM  6rom  eaeb  of  thofe  fqvrares,  and  the  fquare 
^*  root  of  each  remainder  multiply  by  fixty ;  divide 
*^  dach  produ^  by  die  difference  of  the  gati  of  Sutyii 


*  Or,  when  the  cb^cbarma  aad^a£)ra«nuMr  ace  equal,  the  ecliplb 
is  Mai* 

84 


266      ON  THf;  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

^^  and  Chandra ;  the  Brd  quotient  will  be  half  ihe 
*'  duration  of  the  eclipfc  in  damlas  2did palas ;  aod  the 
fecond  quotient  will  be  half  the  luviarJardha  dura« 
tion  in  da  ftdas  2ind  pa /as  y^'  &c.  The  ch*  chawta^  ox 
portion  of  the  diik  eclipfed,  is  here  found  in  dc* 
grees  and  minutes  of  a  great  circle :  it  may  alio  be 
eftimated  in  digits ;  but  the  angulas  or  digits  of  the 
Hindus  are  of  various  dimenfions  in  different  books* 

The  beginning,  middle,  and  end  of  the  eclfpfe 
may  now  be  fuppofed  found  for  the  time  in  Hhtdu^ 
hours,  when  it  will  happen  after  midnight ;  but,  for 
the  correfpdnding  hour  of  the  civil  day,  which  begins' 
at  funrife,  it  is  further  ncceflary  to  compute  the  length 
of  the  artificial  day  and  night ;  and,  for  this  purpofe/ 
muft  be  known  the  ayananfa  or  diftance  of  the  venutf 
equinox  from  the  firft  of  mejha^  the  fun's  right  afcen- 
iion  and  declination ;  which  feveral  requifites  (hall  bcf 
mentioned  in  their  order. 

RefpeAing  the  preceflion  of  the  equinoxes  and 
place  of  ihe  colure,  rhe  following  is  a  tranflation  of  all 
I  can  find  on  the  fubjeft  in  the  Surya  Siddhanfa  and 
its  commentary :-— 

Text.  "  The  ayananfa  moves  eaftward  thirty  times 
twenty  in  each  Maha  Tug ;  by  that  number  (600) 
multiply  ahurgana  (number  of  mean  folar  days 
*^  for  which  the  calculation  is  made)  and  divide  tbc 
produft  by  the  Javan  days  in  a  Ytcgy  and  of  the  quo* 
tient  take  the  ihuja,  which  multiply  by  three,  and 
divide  the  produdt  by  ten ;  the  quotient  is  the  ayan^ 
^^  an/a.  With  the  ayananfa  correft  the  grakay  craUti; 
^*  tlie  eKhaya^  charadah^  and  other  requifites  to  find 
•*  the  pttjht'i  and  the  two  vi/huvas.  When  the  cama 
^*  is  lefs  xhd^nfurya  cVhaya^  the  ^racchacra  (noY^) 


4€ 


OF    THE    HINDUS.  Z^f 

•^  eaftward,  and  the  ayananfa  muft  be  added  ;  Jftid* 
*^  when  more,  it  moves  weftward,  and  the  ayanarifd 
«  muft  be  fubtrafted.  ' 

Commentary.     <<  By  the  text,  the  ay  ana  hhagand  \i 
^*  underftood  to  confift  of  600  hhaganas  (periods)  ia 
a  M^aA^  y^^ ;  but  fome  perfons  fay,  the  meaning  is 
thirty  hhaganas  only,  and  accordingly  that  there 
**  are  30,600  hhaganas.     Alfo  that  Bhafcar  Acharya 
obferves,  that,  agreeably  to  what  has  been  delivered 
by  Surya^  there  are  30,000  hhaganas  oi  i\i^  ayanaiifa 
^^  in  a  Caljiu.     This   is  erroneous;   for  it  difagreeif 
^*  with  the  Saftras  of  the  Ri/kls.     The  Sacalya  San^ 
**  hita  ftates  that  the  hhaganas  of  the  Cranti  pata  irf 
<*  a  A:fc/;tf  1^^  are  600  eaftward.     The  fame  is  ob- 
^*  ferved  in  the  Vajijhfha  Siddhanta ;   and   the  rule 
1'  for  determining  the ^tf«^?w/&   is  as  follows: — Thel 
**  expired  years  divided  by  600,  of  the  quotient  make 
^*  the'Mw/^,  which  multiply  by  three,  and  ^ivide  thtf 
produa:  by  ten.     The  meaning  of  Bhajiar  Achu- 
rya  was  not,  that  Surya  gave  30,000  2^  UiQ  hhaganas 
*^  of  the  ayananfa  in  a  Calpa,  the  name  he  ilfed  being 
*^  Saura  not  Surya,  and  applied  to  fome  oilia*  book. 
**  From  the  natanfu  is  known   the  crahtyanfaj  and 
*^  from  the  crantijya  the  hhujajya,  the^  of  which 
^*  is  the  hhujanfa  of  Surya,  including  the  ayananfa : 
**  this  for  the  firft  three  months4.-4fter  which,  for 
♦*  the  next  three  months,  the  place  oi  Surya,  found  by 
**  this  mode  of  calculation,  muft  be  dedufted  from 
**  fix  figns/    For  the  next  three  months  the  place  of 
^*  Surya  muft  be  added  to  fix  figns,  and  for  the  laft 
•*  three  months  the  place  of  Surya  muft  be  dedufted 
**  frpjEf  twelve  figns.     Thus,  from  the  (liadow  may 
*'  be  computed  the  true  place  of  Surya.     Fof  the 
^*  fame  inftant  of  time  compute  his  place  by  the 
^*  ahargana,    from   which  will  appear  whether  the 
*f  ayananfa  is  to  be  added  or  fubtrafted.     If  the  place 
y  fouod   by  the   (^hatgana  be  lefs  than  the  place 


36s      OK  THE  ASTIIOKOMICAL  GOMPtTT ATIONS 

^  found  by  the  (hadow,  the  ayananfa  mud  be  addedd* 
**  Id  the  prefent  time  the  ayanatifa  is  added.  Ac^ 
•*  cording  to  the  author  of  the  Fara/atikiiat  it  waa 
^*  faid  to  have  been  formerly  dedufted  * ;  and  the 
^^  (buthern  ayana  of  Surya  to  have  been  in  the  firft 
•*  half  of  the  nacJiuUra  jijlejha  \ ;  and  the  nortbera 
^  ayatta  in  the  beginning  of  Dhantjhia  :  that  in  hi9 
^*  time  the  ibuthern  ayana  was  in  the  beginning  of 
<<  Cacara^  or  Cancer ;  and  the  northern  m  the  be^* 
•*  ginning  of  Macara^  or  Capricorn. 

**  The  hhaganas  of  the  ayananfa  in  a  ili^A^  K^  are 
**  600,  \htfaura  years  in  the  (ame  period  4,3209000  } 
^^  one  bha^ana  of  the  ayananfa  therefore  contains' 
**  7,200  years.  Of  a  bhagana  there  are  four  pada$^ 
«*  /5f^  //ir/(/)  when  there  was  no  ayananfa  ;  but  the 
^*  ayananfa  beginning  from  that  time  and  increafing^ 
"  it  was  added.  Ii  continued  increafing  1800  y^arsi 
*«  when  It  became  at  its  utmoft,  or  twenty-feven  de- 
^  grees.  .  Sectmd  pada : — After  this  it  diminifhed-} 

*  It  was  laid  to  have  been  formerly  riwa,**  In  the  HinM 
ipecions  arithmetic,  or  algebi'a,  ahana  fignifies  affirmation  or  ad- 
dition, and  rina  negation  or  fubtratftion:  the  fign  of  the  latter  is 
a  point  pTacedovcr  the  figure,  or  the  qnaittity  noted  down:  thus; 
lour  added  to  ieveti,  is  equal  to  three.  See  the  Bija  Ganitoy  where 
the  mode  oi  computation  w  explained  ihtis :  **  When  a  man  haf 
/our  pieces  of  money,  and  owe$!  feven  of  che  fame  value,  his  cir- 
cum^nces  reduced  to  the  form  of  an  equation,  or  bia  books 
balaocedt  ihotv  a  defi<;iency  of  three  pieces." 

f  This  dcfcrlbes  the  piace  of  the  ib)i)icial  eolnre;  and,  accorci- 
log  to  this  account  of  the  ayananfa^  the  equinoctial  colure  muft 
then  have  paifed  throngh  tlie  renth  degree  of  the  nacjhatra  Bb^ 
r^m/andthe  3^  20' of  Vifac^ha.  The  circumftance,  at  it  it  nnen- 
tioned  in  Fana  Sanbita,  is  curious  and  deferving  of  noHotf.  I 
ihall  only  obl^rve  here,  that,  although  i(  d^efi  not  difagr^e  with 
the  prefent  fyilcrn  of  the  ii/W//i  in  regard  to  the  motion  of  the 
cquino£l*Ml  points,  yet  the  commentator  on  the  rarafani^ta  fup- 
pofes  that  it  mu(l  have  been  owing  to  fome  pret^matiifil  oaufe» 
The  place  here  defcrihed  oi  thecc^ure,  \n  «n  coaipirifoqr  of  thd 
Hindu  2iv\t\  Ruroptan  fpherff^  about  3^  4o'ea{l\VBrd  of  the  pofition^ 
which  it  is  fnppofed  by  Sir  Ifaac  Newtotiy  on  the  authority  of 
EuJoxitSf  to  have  had  in  the /n>!r///v/ ipherc  at  tfhrtuntof  the 
Argcnautic  eL'pedition. 


^  ^P    THE    HIKDUS.  269 

•*  but  the  amount  was  ft  ill  added,  until,  at  the  end 
**  of  1800  years  more,  it  was  diminiCbed  to  nothing. 
•*  Third patia  :  The  ayananfa  for  the  next  1 800  years 
^*  was  deducted ;  and  the  amount  deduded  at  the 
^  end  of  that  term  was  twenty-feven  degrees.  Fourth 
•^  pada :  The  amount  ileduftion  dimini(bed  ;  and  at 
**  the  end  of  ihe  next  term  of  1 800  years,  there  was 
••  nothing  either  added  or  fubtraded.  The  Mums, 
•*  having  obferved  thefe  circumftances,  gave  rules  ac- 
**  cordingly :  if  in  the  Javan  days  of  a  MaAa  Tug 
^  there  are  600  bhaganasj  what  will  be  found  in  the 
ahargana  propofed  ?  which  ftatement  will  produce 
bhaganasy  fines,  &c.  ;  rejeft  the  bhaganas^  and 
••  take  the  bhuja  of  the  remainder,  which  multiply 
**  by  three  and  divide  by  ten,  becaufe  there  are  four 
**  fadas  in  the  Ihagaita  ;  for  if  in  90^  there  is  a  cer- 
^  tain  number  found  as  the  bhuja^  when  the  bhuja 
••  degrees  are  twenty-feven,  what  will  be  found? 
•*  and  the  numbers  twenty-feven  and  ninety  ufed  in 
^  the  computation  being  in  the  ratio  of  three  to  ten, 
^  the  latter  are  ufed  to  lave  trouble. 

*•  There  is  another  method  of  computing  the  aya^ 
^*  nanfa:  Tht  cranti-pata-gati  is  taken  at  one  minute 
^  per  year ;  and  according  to  this  rule  the  ayanm^a 
^  mcre^es  to  twenty-four  degrees ;  the  time  neccf- 
^*  fary  for  which,  as  one  pada  is  1440  years.  This  13 
^*  tbtgati  of  the  nacjhatras  of  the  crayiti  tnandala. 

*'  The  nacfiatra  it^an  rife$  where  the  varl  man" 
<*  ^aJa  and  the  cjkitifa  interfedt  ^  ;  but  it  has  been 

4  Thit  can  happen  only  when  there  is  no  ayananfa.  The  nari 
m^ndala  \%  the  equator.  1  \i\^yoga  ilar  of  Retail  is  in  the  la  A  of 
Mima  (Piices)  or,  which  is  the  fame,  in  xhtjlrfioi  Mrjha  (Aries) 
^iA  ba<  00  latitude  in  the  ///W«  tables.  Hence,  from  the  ayan^ 
ifHfa  and  time  of  the  beginning  of  the  Hin^u  year^  may  be  known 
their  aodiacal  flars*  Revati  is  the  name  of  the  twenty-feven th 
bpiar  man(ion,  which  comprehends  the  la(l  13^  10'  of  Mina. 
When  tiiejffaM0Mfi  was  o^  as  at  the  creation,  the  beginning  of  the 


ajO       OS    THK   ASTRONOMICAL   COMPUTATION* 

'*  obfcrvcd  to  varj'  twenty-fcvcn  degrees  north  anc) 

**  Ibiith.     The  fame  variation  is  obfrrved  in  the  other' 

•*  lucfnatras:   it   is   therefore  riglitly  faid,   that  the' 

**  chdcra  moves  eaf^ward.     The  chacra  means  all  the 

**  narjhatras^   and   the   cranti-pah-gati   is  owing  to' 

**  rhcm,  not  to  the  planets ;  and  hence  it  is  obferved 

**  in  the  text,  that  ihc  pd fa  (\ra.ws  chamira  to  a  dii- 

•^  tance  equal  to  the  ^-jw/i  degrees/' 

Here,  to  my  apprehcnfion,  inflead  of  a  rcvoUition 
oi  the  equinoxes  through  all  the  figns  in  the  conrfe  of 
the  Plulonic  year,  which  wpuld  carry  the  firftof  Vau 
jdK^h  through  all  the  feafons,  is  clearly  implied  a  libra^' 
tion  of  thole  points  from  the  third  degree  of  Pifcef 
to  the  twenty- Icventh  of  u4rie$^  and  from  the  third  oft 
Virgo  to  the  tvventy-feventh  of  Librae  and  back  again^ 
in  7200  years ;  but,  as  this  mull  feem  to  Europeant 
an  extraordinary  circuinftance  to  be  ftated  in  lo  an- 
cient  a  treatile  as  the  Sursa  S'uUhanta.  and  believed 
by  Ilhuhi  aftronomers  ever  fince,  I  hope  the  abovtf 
quotations  may  attract  the  attention  of  thofe  who  ar<? 
quiilitied  for  a  critical  examination  of  them,  and  be 
compared  vviih  whatever  is  to  be  found  in  other  Saftras^ 
on  the  fame  fubjedl.  Whatever  may  be  the  refult  of 
fuch  an  invetligation,  there  is  no  miftaking  the  rule^fOf 
determining  \)\^  aytmanfu^  which  was  at  the  banning 
of  the  prefent  year  19^  21',  and  confequcntly  the 
vcrmil  equinox  in  P-ifces  10°  39  of  the  U'nidu  fphercj 
or,  in  other  words,  the  fun  entered  MeJIui  or  Aries^ 
and  the  H'mdu  year  began  when  he  was  advanced  19^ 
21'  into  the  northern  figns,  according  to  European  cx- 
preflion. 


Cj!:  T.\^,  &c.  the  col  lire  pafTed  through  the  joga  ftar  of  Revatf, 
J:  ]^  plum,  t'.iat  in  this  j/aiVage  T^^v^// applies  either  to  the  par- 
ti ::il.i:  vtT-1  ibr  of  that  name,  or  to  the  laft,  or  twenty-fevefith 
hri'i^  u.2\\\\o-.\,  in  which  i:  is  fitunted.  (See  a  former  note,)  Li 
t2-.\\  •:«:"'"//r.7,  or  planetary  manfioii,  there  is  one  ftar  called  thfi 
>v;'..  .hoiV  laiitiiJ*',  longitude,  and  right  afcenfion,  the  IlirulMS 
h^. .  iteie!  iniiici  an:!  In'jricd  in  their  agronomical  tables. 


OF    THB  itlNDUS.  ■"  SL'jt 

'    The  dydncinfa  added  to  the  fun's  •  Idngitude  in  the 
tl'indu  fphere,  gives    his  diftance    from  the    vernal 
equinox  :  of  the  fum  take  the  hhuja  ;  that  is,  if  it  ex- 
ceeds three  fines,  fuhtracSt  fix  from  it  \  and  if  it  ex- 
ceeds nine  fines,  fubrradt  it  from  twelve.     The  quan- 
tity fo  found  will  be  the  fun's  dijlance  from  the  ncareft 
eqiiinodlial  point  from  which  is  found  his  declination— • 
as  radius  is  to  the  paf'amapacramojya^  of  fine  of  the 
gr^ateft  declination  2 4°,  fo  is  the  fun's  diftance  from 
theneareft  equinoctial  point  to  the  declination  fought; 
which  will  agree  with  the  table  of  declination  in  pre- 
fent  ufe,  to  be  found  in  the  tables  of  Macaranda^  and 
calculated  for  the  feveral  degrees  of  the  quadrant. 
Thedeclination  thus  determined  for  one  fign,  two  figns, 
and  three  fines,  n°  43',  20^   38',  and  the  greateft 
declination,  or  the  angle  of  inclination  of  the  ecliptic 
and  equator  24®.  The  co-fines  of  the  lame  in  the  ITtndu 
canon  are  3366',  321 7' and  3141';  and  as  the  co-fine  of 
th(»  declination   for   one  fine,  is   the  co-fine  of  the 
greateft  declination,  fo  is  the  fine  of  30"^  to   the  fine 
of  the  right  afcenfion  for  a  point  of  the  ecliptic  at  that 
diftance  from  either  of  the  two  "jijhuvas^  or  equinodtial 
points.     In  this  manner  is  found  the  right  afcenfion 
for  the  twelve  figns  of  the  ecliptic,  reckoned  from  the 
#ynal  equinox  ;  and  alfo,  by  the  fame  management 
of  triangles,   the  afcenfional  difference  and  oblique 
afcenfion  for  any  latitude :   which  feveral  particiUars 
are  inferted  in  the  Hindu  books,  as  in  the  following 
table,  which  is  calculated  for  Bhagalpur^  on  fuppo- 

A    V 

fition  that  the  palaiha  or  equinodi^l  fhadow  is  5  30. 
By  the  Lagna  of  LancUj  Madhyama^  or  mean  Lugna^ 
the  Hindus  mean  thofc  points  of  the  equator  which 
rife  refpedlively  with  each  thirtieth  degree  of  the 
ecliptic  counted  from  Aries  in  a  right  fphere,  an- 
fvvering  to  the  right  afcenfion  in  any  latitude ;  by 
the  Lagna  of  a  particular  place,  the  oblique  afcenfion^ 
or  the  divifions  of  the  equator  which  rife  in  fucceffioa 
with  each  fign  in  an  oblique  fphere,  and  by  the  char  a 
the  afcenfional  difference. 


7.^^    ON  THE   ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

• 
a 
Cd 

In  palasy  or 
minutes  of  time, 
4600  to  a  Nac- 

fliatra  day. 

M    w^O    'f'^rricn^^o    *ne« 

M  N  cocncn^cocoeocod  el 

8 

>0; 

r 

1 

In  refpirations 

anfwering  to 

minutes  of  the 

equator. 

"^  N    N    -^vO    ON  OvO    ^  N    N    ^ 
rri  vooo    0    0    OsOnO    OOO    •Aeo 

0 

0 

NO 

1 

r 

• 

■  J- 
f 

o 

Cd 

x^ 
Cd 

jS 

c  ^   u 

c  c  ^^    • 

jd  «  2  h 

f 

In  refpirations 

anfwering  to 

minutes  ot  the 

equator. 

*^oo  0  0  00  *^  f^oo  0  0  00  *^ 

CO  N    »-«    PN    N    CO  tO.N    »H    »N    CS    CO 

4 

• 

u 

c 
o 

cd 

r* 
ce 

u^  2  Id 
«r  «  0  JS   . 

Cd  w  vc  a  i^ 

■3  %    •♦^  0    c« 

ft.C    -.5"^ 

«>4 

00  a\co«^o^oooo  o\«*oeo  a\oo 

1 

0 
0 

>o 

CO 

1 

In  refpirations 

anfwering  to 

minutes  of  the 

equator. 

0   vovrjvovoo    0    vo^J^^'J^OO 

so.  ?^  On  On  r>.vO  ^    t*^  On  On  t^O 

0 
0 

vO 

• 
d 

CO 

s 
c 

-OF    THE    HIKDirS.  I73 

COMPUTATION  OF  THE  ECLIFSE. 

f  jtt  k  be  premifed  that  the  pofition  of  the  fiiOt 
and  nodes,  by  calailatioo,  will  on  the  firft  of 
Faifac^h  be  as  here  reprefented  in  the 
,  excepting  the  charaders  of  the  figns. 


By  inlpedion  of  the  figure,  and  by  coofideriog 
the  modon  of  the  fun,  moon,  and  nodes,  it  appears 
chaty  when  the  fun  comes  to  the  fign  Tula  [Liha) 
oorrdpondiog  with  the  month  of  Cartic^  the  dcfcciid- 
ing  node  will  have  gone  back  to  Aries  ;  and  that  coo* 
iequently  a  Iwiar  eclipfe  may  be  expeded  to  h^ipea 
ai  the  end  of  the  fufnima  tifhi^  or  time  of  full  mooo, 
in  rhar  nionth. 

FIRST    OPERATIOK. 

find  the  number  of  mean  fblar  days  from  die 
)n  10  fome  pan  of  the  pumma  tifhi  in  CarUe^ 
of  the  4S92(l  year  of  the  CaU  Yug. 

Tears  ex]Mred  of  the  Calpa  to  tiie  end 

of  the  ^atya  Tug^       ...       I970784000 

Dedu&  the  tenn  of  Brahma's  employ- 
ment in  the  creation^  .  •  1 7064000 

From  die  cxcation,  when  die  planetary 

motions  beg;»,   to  the  end  of  the 

Sai^  Yug^  .  .  •  i95372o<»> 

Add  ihcTrfiaYugy  -  -  iz^Sooo 

Dwafcr  Yugy         -  -  <64xxx> 

Ffiefent  year  of  th?  Cah  Yug^  4890 

From  tiie  creation  to  the  next  z^'piOMdir 

iogBt9tgaijtigr,  -  -  X9<58*4890 


Or  folar  months  (  x  12)  -        -    2547062  ft68o 

Add  (even  mcathsp  ^  '^  7& 

2347^it6td 


^74     ^N  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMFTTTAtIONJ 

As  the  folar  months  in  a  Yug^  51 840000,  are  to  the 
intercalary  Junar  months  in  that  cycle,  1593336,  IlO 
art  the  folar  months  23470618687,  to  their  cortef- 
J)onding  intercalary  lunar  months  721384677';  which 
added  together,  give  24192003364  lunations.  This 
number  multiplied  by  thirty,  produces  725760100920 
iifJiisj  or  lunar  days,  from  the  creation  to  the  new 
moon  in  Carhc ;  to  which  add  fourteen  fifhis  for 
the  fame,  to  the  pumima  fifhis  irl  that  month 
725760100934.  Then,  as  the  number  of  tifhis  irf 
ia  YUgy  16030O0080,  is  to  their  difference  exceeding 
the  rh^an  folir  days  iri  that  cycle  (called  efcJtttya 
ii^his)  25082252,  fo  are  725760100934  fifhii  to 
their exccftin number  overthefblaf  days  n 35601 7987, 
which  fubtrafted,  leaves  714404082947,  as  the  num- 
ber of  mean  folar  days  from  the  creation,  or  when  the 
planetary  motions  began,  to  a  point  of  time  which 
will  be  midriight  under  the  firft  meridian  of  Lahcay 
and  near  the  time  of  full  moon  in  Cartic*.  The 
firft  day  after  the  creation  being  Havi'-var^  or  Swi* 
Jay,  divide  the  number  of  days  by  feven  for  the  day 
of  the  week,  the  remainder  after  the  diviiion  being 
two,  marks  the  day  Soma-var^  or  Monday. 

SECOND    OPERATION. 

For  the  rfiean  longitude  of  the  fun,  moon,  and 
the  afcendiing  node.  Say,  as  the  ttumber  of  mean 
ialar  days  in  a  Malta  Yug  is  to  the  revolutions  of 
any  planet  in  that  cycle,  fo  are  the  days  from  the 
creation  to  even  revolutions,  which  rejedt,  and  the 
fraftion,  if  any,  turned  into  fines,  &c.  is  the  mean 
longitude  required. 


*  In  the  year  of  the  Cali  Tug  489 1»  correfpon ding  with  1196 
Bengal  ftyle,  and  with  the  month  of  O^oher  or  November  (here- 
after to  be  determined)  in  the  year  of  Chrift  1789. 


■ 


Vr/  :3    * 


T.2'7A. 


S'# 


^  (y/u^^W^^y  (    f/^.  .      ^V( 


'^f 


OF  THE   dINPVS.  4175 


I  ft.    Of  the  Sttrt. 

1 

RevohaioMS,     Situt.  ®     '        ^  '^ 

f      ^  06 — — ^  =*      (195584890)    6  a»  44    %  It 

1577917828  ^     ^^^     T    7     /  -T-T 

zd.     Of  the  Moon. 

y,440408«94yxS77S3336  ^   (,6,,,888«5)   o  ,l  «  58  56 

I5779I7828  ^     ^'  ^^*  ^        ^ 


3d.     Of  the  Moon^s  Apogee. 

714404082947x48820^ 

* —       'Z ^       ==     (221034460)    II    <  31  X3  3? 

1 577917828  ^        ^^    ^  ^  ^      ^  ^^ 

Correffion  of  the  Bija  add. 

7I44O408JI947X4  .  V  * 

«    7    9    6    J 


i.— A 


<# 


i|h.     Offhe  Mootti  Afcend^  Nodei 
71440408^947  X  3322^8  ,  .  . 

Corre&ion  of  the  Bijaadd. 


?'4404e8a94>X4  _,  .      «.<.,,..• 

»S7Wy838  ^        *  ^^  ^^  ^ 

r 

5th. -'^  Of  the  Svrfs  A^gee. 
i5y7»t;8>8  "^'  t   -  «7S  -    )    *  17  X7  »S  - 

Vol.  II.  T 


27^ 


on    THE    ASTRONOMICAL   COMPUTATIONS 


Of  the  Sun,        — 
Moon,       — 
Node,       — 
Sun's  Apogee, 
Moon*s  Apogee, 


Mean  longitude 
for  midnight  un- 
der the  meridian 
of  Lanca. 


Dcdu<5l  tor  the 
longitude  of 
Bhagalpur  as 
»  80^  50'  of 
equator  eaft. 


6  21  44     2  12 
—  ai  21  58  56 

4  a^  27  40  2^ 

2  17  17  I 
II     7     9 


6 


M 


I  27 

»9  34 

—  4 
inconfiderable 

—  9 


Mean  longiciide 

for  midnight  at 

Bhagalpur. 


6  ax  42  35  » 

-  21     »  ac  ' 

4  «9  «7  3?  - 
a  17  17  16  — 

II     7    857- 


THIRiD    OPERATION. 

For  the  equated  longitude  of  the  Sun  and  Moon, 

I  ft.     Of  the  Sim. 

The  mean  longitude  of  the  fun  is  6  21°  42'  ^^ 
a2'";  of  the  apogee  2  17  17  15,  the  dilTerence,  o^ 
mean  anomaly,  4'  4°  25'  20"  ;  its  complemdotc  to  6 
fines  or  diftance  from  the  perigee  1*  25^  34'  40'', 
the  equation  for  which  is  required.  This  may  either 
be  taken  from  the  foregoing  table,  tranflatcd  from  Ma- 
carajida^  or  calculated  in  the  manner  explained  as 
follows : 

The  fine  of  1^  25^  34'  40''  is  2835'  31''  and-i?i^21^ 

=  14'  30"  to  b6  fubtraded  from  the  paridhi  degrees 
in  fama ;  14° — 14'  30''  =13°  53'  30",  the  circum* 
ferencc  of  epicytle  in   this  point  of  anomaly  3  and 

'''^%y''^''"==io8<  6 1''  the  fine  of  the  angle  of 

equation,  confidered  as  equal  to  its  arc,  or  i**  48  6",  to 
be  deduftcd  from  the  mean,  for  the  true  longitude  y 


*  Tht8  longitude,  aflrgncd  to  Bhagalpur^  i*  erroneous ;    but  the 
error  docs  not  in  the  Icall  affcdl  the  main  objc6t  ol  the  paper. 


6F   T&E   ttlNlSUg.  277 

e;  2i^  41  ss'—f  48'6''=6*  19"^  54'  2/  for  mid- 
night agreeing  with  mean  time ;  but  a$,  in  this  point 
of  iandmaly,  the  true  or  apparent  midnight  precedes 
that  eftimated  for  mean  time,  for  which  the  computa- 
tion has  been  made,  a  proportionable  quantity  muft 
be  deduded  from  the  fun*s  place,  which  is  thus 
found :  Say,  ^  the  minutes  contained  in  the  efcliptic 
are  to  the  fUn's  mean  itiotion  in  one  day  $g'  8'',  fo  is 
the  equation  of  his  mean  to  his  true  place  iSb'  &\  to 

the  equation  of  time  required,  o'  18"  (  =52l?^^y2!:£) 

^nd  6»  19°  54'  29''— 29"— 1 8''=  6*  19°  54' "i^  the 
fun*s  true  longitude  for  che  apparent  midnight. 

For  the  ftin's  true  niotidn.     The  co-firle  of  the  fun*s 
diftance   from    the    perigee  is   194I'    o''    i'",    and 


'  /•  Iff 


19410  i^xi343  3o__^^,  ^^^  co-fine  of  the  epicycle,  and 
5^    X74_.^/  j^'/  equation,  to  be  added  to  the  mean 

for  the  true  motion,  59'  8"  x  i'  16''  ==60''  £4''  perday* 
or  60"  23'^  per  danda. 


2d.     OfiheMooti. 

The  liiodn^s  mean  longitude  for  the  itidan  mid- 
night is  o*  20°  1  25'',  which  exceeds  her  mean  longi- 
tude for  the  true  midnight,  but  ^^^^^^-^=3'  57'', 

heir  inotidn  in  the  difference  of  time  between  the  mean 
and  true  midnight  0*21°  2  25''-^3' 57' =  0  20  58 
28  mean  longitude,  fdr  Which  the  anomaliftic  equa- 
tion is  to  be  found.  Place  of  the  apogee  1 1*  7^  8''  55" 
and  the  moon's  diftanqe  from  it  1*  ly  49'  33''.  The 
fine  of  the  latter,  2379^  39*^.  By  the  rule  before  ex- 
plained S322VW    _  j^,  ^^.^   ^^j   3>°-^iy5i-X.379-39- 

=210  the  fine  of  the  angle  of  equation  equal  to 
its  arc,  or  30  30"  to  be  fubtraded,  o^  20'  58^"  28''' — 
3^  30  =  017'  28''  28^^'  the  moon's  true  place,  agree* 
ing  with  the  true  apparent  midnight, 

Ta 


IfS     ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMI>yTATlOK5 

For  the  moon's  true  motion.  The  co-fine  of  icf 
diftance  from  the  apogee  2479.  13.  Circumference 
of  the  epicycle  31°  46'  9",  and  iilf^ll^gizsW' ^ 

218''  47"  CO  fine  in  the  epicycle.  The  moon's  mean 
motion  from  her  apogee  is  790'  35'' — 6'  4i'^=783' 

54'',  and  ^^^^-^-^^^^y^^^^^  =  49^  53"  the  equation  of  her 

mean  to  her  true  motion,  to  be  fitibtradled,  790-  35 — 
49  53  =  740.  42  the  moon's  true  motion  per  day,  of 
740''  42'"  per  damla. 

For  the  place  of  the  moon's  apogee  reduced  to  tbe 
apparent  midnight.     The  motion  of  the  apogee  is 

6'  41^'  per  day,  ^^^'  =  2^  i  V  f  8'  sf-^^ 
=11'  7""  8'  55"  its  place. 

For  the  fame  of  the  node.  Its  motion  per  day 
is  3'  1 1-,  and  l2L^^i£22l=  i",  and  V  29°  27'  36^^- 
1''  :=  4*  29°  27'  35"  its  placer 

The  true  longitude  and  motion,  therefore,  for  theap 
parent  time  of  midnight  at  BJuigalpurj  714404082947 
lolar  days  after  the  creation,  or  commencement  of  the 
planetar}^  motions,  will  be 


Longitude. 

Motion  per  daf. 

Of  the  Sun, 

%       0      f,      ,f 

6  19  54  11 

60  24 

Moon, 

—  17  28  28 

740  4a 

Sun*s  Apogee, 

2  17  17  15 

inconfiderable 

Moon's  Apogee, 

"     7     ^  S5 

6  41- 

Moon's  Node, 

4  ^9  27  IS 

$  " 

SECOND    OPERATION. 


Having  the  longitude  and  motion  as  above,  to  de- 
termine the  //VV//  and  time  remaining  unexpired  i^ 
the  inilant  of  oppofuion,  or  full  moon. 


OP    THE    HIN15irS,  279 

The  moon's  longitude  fubtrafted  from  the  lun*s> 
leaves  5*  27®  34"  17",  or  10654'  17'',  which,  divided 
by  720'  the  minutes  in  a  mean  tifhi^  quotes  four- 
teen even  tit' his  expired,  and  the  fraftion,  or  remain- 
der 574'  17'%  is  the  portion  expired  of  the  15th,  or 
furmma  tifhiy  which  fubtrafted  from  720',  leaves 
141;' 43^'  remaining  unexpired  of  the  fame;  which, 
divided  by  the  moon's  motion  per  danda  from  the  fun^ 
will  give  the  time  remaining  unexpired  from  midnight 
to  the  inftant  of  the  full  moon  with  as  much  preci- 
fion  as  the  Hindu  aftronomy  requires.  Deduft  the 
fun's  motion  60''  24"'  per  ddnda  from  the  moon's 
740''  42'",  the  remainder  680''  %"\  is  the  moon's  mo- 
tion from  the  fun ;  by  this  divide  the  part  remaining 
unexpired  of  tht  ^umima  tit^hi  145''  43". 

i45-43-=52458o-_P:   f 

■  ■ ■■       »  12     CI 

680-8"'=    40818'^  ^ 

therefore  ii  dandasj  51 />^/^f  after  midnight  will  be 
the  end  of  the  purnima  tifhij  or  inftant  of  oppofition 
of  the  fun  and  moon. 


FIFTH  OPERATION. 

Having  the  inftant  of  oppofition  as  above,  to  find 
the  true  longitude  and  motion  of  the  fun  and  moon, 
the  latitude  of  the  latter,  and  the  place  of  the  node. 

♦  .  ^-  ^' 

Add  the  mean  motion  of  each  for  1 2  5 1  to  the  mcaa 

place,  found  before  for  the  true  midnight;  and  for  the 
mean  places  fo  found,  compute  again  the  anomaliftic 
equations.  This  being  but  a  repetition  of  operation, 
the  .third  is  unMecefiary  to  be  detailed.  The  feveral 
particulars  are  as  follows :  . 

T3 


zSo 


OK  THB  ASTJIQKQMZCAL  COMFITTATIONS 

Trueionp* 

tude  at  full 

mooo. 


Mean  longi- 
tude for  mid- 
night. 


// 


Of  ^e  Sun*  6  21  42  17 

Moony  —  JO  58  28 

Moon's  Apogee,  1 1 1    7    85s 
Mooa>  Node,    |  4  29  27  35 


M«n  longi.|  £ 
tude  at  full       " 
moon. 


// 


6  21  54  17 
—  13  47  47 

E      7   ID  21 

4  29  28  l6| 


IE 


tion. 


// 


1475c 
34020 


6  30  7    7 

—  *P  If  *7 


Of  the  Sun, 
Moon, 


Mean  motion. 


59^    r 

790    35 


X     1      16' 
1  —  47     ^9 


True  mouen  at 
full  moon. 

743        7 


Hence  it  appears  that,  at  the  oppoiition^  the 
moon  will  be  near  her  dcfcending  node ;  for^  4"  29* 
28'  ifx  6*=  lo*  29"^  28'  16",  the  place  of  the  dc 
fcending  node  in  antecedentiay  and  12* — 10'  29^  28* 
i6'=i'o^  31'  44''  its  longitude  according  to  the 
order  of  the  figns,  and  i' 0^31' 44' — 20®  7'  ay^'s 
xo°  24'  17''  the  moon's  diftance  from  her  defccf^diqg 
node,  which,  being  within  the  ^mit  pf  a  lynar 
eclipfe,  (hows  that  the  moon  will  be  then  eclipfed. 
For  her  latitude  at  this  time,  fay,  as  radius  is  to  the 
inclination  of  her  orbit  to  the  ecliptic,  4®  3©'  or  270',  fo 
is  the  fine  of  her  cliftance  from  the  node  620'  57",  to 

l,er  la^tudp  of  48'  45"  (=-^21^^). 


SIXTH  OFERATIOH. 


Froni  the  elements  now  found,  to  compute  the 
diameter  of  the  moon  and  (hadow,  and  the  duration 
of  the  eclipfe. 


The  Sun-s  mean  diameter  is 
Moon's 
Earth's 


6500 

480 

1600 


Tejaw^ 


OF  THE  HINDUS*  >       iSt, 

Sun's  mean  motion,  59'    Zf' 

Moon*s,  .         -.  7.90  35 

Sun*s  true  motion,  60  24 

Moon's,  -         -  743     7 

Moon's  latitude,  48  45 

A$  the  moon's  mean  motion  is  to  he^  mean  diame* 
ter,  fo  is  her  true  motion  to  her  true  diameter  for  the 

Y 

time  of  oppofition  743_p<48o  —^^^i  n  Jojan^  whichj, 
divided  by  fifteen,  quotes  30/  5"  of  a  great  circle. 


As  the  fun's  mean  motion  is  to  his  mean  dian^eter, 
fo  is  his  true  motion  to  his  diameter  at  the  inftant 

Y 

of  oppofition  ^"^  ^^  .^g/^"^  =  6639  14  fojan.. 

As  the  moon's  mean  motion  is  to  the  earth's  dia-» 
meter,  fo  is  the  moon's  equated  motion  to  the  Suchi^ 
or  a  fourth  number,  wluch  mufl  be  taken  as  the 
earth's  diameter,  for  the  purpofe  of  proportioning  its 
Ihadow  to  the  moon's  diftance  and  apparent  diameter 

'  i^^Jf^"  =  1 503  s^  Yojan,  the  Suchi. 

Equated  diameter  of  the  fun,         6639  14 
Of  theeanh,  -  -  1503  ^6 

Diffence^   5039  14 

As  the  fun's  mean  diameter  is  to  the .  moon^s  dia-# 
meter,  fo  is  the  difference  above  5039  14,  to  a  fouR^t 
n\imber,  which,  deduded  from  the  Suchi^  or  e^u^ted 
diameter  of  the  earth,  leaves  the  diameter  of  the  earth's 

Y         Y 

(hadow  at  the  moon,  ^^""^^^^^  '^       372.     7>    and 

T4  ■ 


9>S%     OlS  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

'503-5^''~37*"  7  ^^  ^*3i-  49  l^^w, which,  divided 
by  fifteen,  quotes  75'  if  of  a  great  circle  for  the 

fame. 

From  the  half  fum  of  the  diameters  of  the  moon 
and  fhadow  liJiLpil  ===  ^2'  46''  fubtrad:  ihe  moon's 

latitude  48"  45'',  the  remainder  is  the  ChcVatma,  or 
portion  of  the  moon*s  diameter  eclipfed,  4^  i'^  of  % 
great  circle,  and  by  the  nature  of  a  right  angled 
triangle,  the  fquare  root  of  the  difference  of  the  fquares 
of  the  moon's  latitude,  and  the  half  fum  of  thd 
diameters  of  the  (hadow  and  moon,  will  be  the  path 
of  the  moon's  centre,  from  the  beginning  to  tho 
piiddle  of  the  eclipfe. 

The  diameter  of  the  (hadow  is,  7i  27 
Of  the  moon,      -      .      -       30    5 

I'  ■  I  ■   9 
Sum,     -    105  3a 


>   « 


Half  fum,     52  46 
The  moon's  latitude  is,      -        48  45 


\/  52.  46*  X  48.  45*  =  20'  11"  which,  divided 
by  the  moon's  motion  from  the  fun,  quotes  the  half 
duration  of  the  eclipfe  in  dandas  Sind  falas^  or  Hindu 

D     p     V 

mean  folar  hours,  ^""^ 'jj^r  ""''  =  1  46  25  5  which 

doubled,  is  3  32  50,  the  whole  duration  of  the 
eclipfe  i  which  will  be  partial,  the  moon's  latitude 
t^^Pg.  greater  than  the  difference  between  the  fenii^ 
diameters  of  the  moon's  difk  and  the  earth's  {hadow. 

PEVPNTH   OPERATlONv 

To  find  the  pofition  of  the  equinoflical  colurcs, 
and  thence  the  declination  of  the  fun,  the  length 


OP   THE  miTPlTSr  283 

of  day  and  night,  and  the  time  counted  from  funrife^ 
or  hour  of  the  civil  day  when  the  eclipfe  will  happen. 

I/?.  For  the  ayananfa  or  diftance  of  the  vernal  equi- 

Pcrio45. 

nox  from  the  x^oiMeJha.'-^^^^^^  =  {ji^xf^S^) 

%s  4°  3 1'  30''  52"'  of  which  take7he  \huja  %'  4°  31'  30". 
52'"— 6*    2*  4^  3 1'^  30"  52''which  multiply  by  three  and 

divide  by  ten,  5£i^^l^-^i^  =  19^  21'  27"  the  ayan^ 

anfa^  which  in  the  prefent  age  is  added  to  the  fun*s 
longitude,  to  find  his  diftance  from  the  vernal  equi- 
nox. The  fun's  equated  longitude  is  6j  19^  54''  1 1'\ 
and  6j  19®  54'  11''  x  19^  ^\  i-jz^^s  9°  15' 38'' 
his  diftance  from  the  vernal  equinox. 

2</.  For  the  dechnation,  right  afcenfion,  and 
afcenfional  difference.  The  fun's  place  is  7^  9^ 
15'  38%  and  IS  9°  15'  38''  his  diftance  from 
the  autumnal  equinox;  the  fine  of  which  is  2174' 
41%  and  as  radius  is  to  the  fine  of  the  greateft  de^ 
clination  24°,  termed  the  paramapacramajya  1397% 
fo  is  2 1 74«  4 1  to  the  fine^  or  his  declination  883'  40"^ 
the  arc  correlponding  with  which,  in  the  canon  of 

fines, is  14^53',  ("9/ X. 174-48-^883- 4Q")>  Theequi, 

A       V 

noflial  fliadow  at  Bhagalpur  is  5,  30,  and,  as  the 
Gnomon  of  twelves  angolas  is  to  the  equinoAial  (ha-^ 
dow,  fo  is  the  fine  of  the  declination  883,  40,  to  the 

A        V       ^ 

cjhitijya,  ^  ^^^^^y  ^°  ==r  405^  i".     And   as  the  co-fino 

of  the  declination  is  to  the  radius,  fo  is  the  cjhitijya  to 
the   fine    of   the  chara^  or    afcenfional    difference, 

^33!^'=  4.19'  4' ;  its  arc  is  419'  S^^"  the  afcen- 
iioQal  difference. 

3</.  For  the  length  of  the  day  and  night. 

The  modern  Hindus  make  their  computations  in 
mean  folar  tin^e  j  the  Sury^  Siddhanta  diredls,  that 


Z84     ON  THE    ASTROKOMICAt    COMPTTATIOKS 

tliey  fliould  be  made  in  fydereal  time.  A  fy* 
dereal  day  contains  fixty  dandas ;  each  danda^  fixty 
iiculas  ;  and  each  viculu  fix  refpirations^  in  all  21600 
refpirations,  anfwering  to  the  minutes  of  the  equator. 
A  nacJluUra  day  is  exceeded  in  length  by  the^v^n  or 
folar  day,  by  reafon  of  the  fun*s  proper  motion  in  the 
ecliptic,  the  former  meafures  time  equably,  but  the 
latter  varies  in  its  length  from  the  inequality  of  the 
fun's  motion,  and  the  obliquity  of  the  ecliptic.  The 
fun's  equated  motion  for  the  middle  of  the  eclipfe 
was  found  60'  24 ' ;  and  the  oblique  afcenfion  for  the 
eighth  fign  from  the  vernal  equinox,  in  which  he  wilt 
be  found  at  that  time,  is  taken  from  the  foregoing 
table  343  falas^  or  2085  refpirations.  As  the  num- 
ber of  minutes  contained  in  one  Cne  1 800,  is  to  the 
number  of  refpirations,  or  the  arc  of  the  equator  in 
minutes  anfwering  to  the  oblique  afcenfion  of  the 
line,  the  fun  is  in  2085,  as  above,  fo  is  the  equated 
motion  60'  24",  to  the  excefs  in  refpirations  of  the 
favan  or  folar  day  over  the  riacfhatra  or  fydereal  day 

^^'^  iScxT  '^ ^^  ^9'3'>  which,  added  to  21600'  gives 
the  length  of  the  folar  day  by  civil  account  fron^ 
funrife  to  funrife,  fydereal  time  21669.  3  refpirations. 
From  one-fourth  of  this  deduft  the  sucenfional  dif- 
ference, the  fun  being  declined  towards  the  fbuth 
pole,  for  the  femidiurnal  arc ;  and  add  it  for  th? 
feminodurnal  arc  :  the  former  is  4997'  19",  and  the 
latter  5837'  11'';  which  may  be  reduced  to  dandas^  or 
Hindu  hours,  by  a  divlfion  of  360.     Hence  half  th^ 

D       P      V  D        P       V 

day  is  13  52  53,  and  half  the  night  16  12  52. 
The  whole  day  added  to  half  the  night  fhows  the  hour 
counted   from   the    preceding  funrife    to   midnighl 

D       P      V 

43  58  38,  to  which  add  the  time  at  midnight  unex^ 
pired  of  the  pirntma  tinn^  for  the  hour  of  the  civil 
clay  correfponding  with  the  middle  of  the  eclipfe. 
The  hour  from  midnight  to  the  end  of  the  ^umima^ 


OF    THE    HINDUS.  285 

DP 

tiihl  is  already  found  1 2  5 1   in  raean  folar  timq,  and 
to  reduce  it  to  fydereal,  time,  fay,  as  21600'  is  to 

DP  DP 

21600'  X  59'  8'',  fo  is  12  5 1,  to  fydereal  hours  12  53, 

D       P 

equal  to  2  51  folar  hours. 

o      V      r 

From  the  preceding  funrife  to  midnight,  is  43  59  — 
A*t  midnight  will  remain  of  the  puminia  ] 

tint,        -  -  -        J   '^  53  — 


Hour  of  the  civil  day  at  the  midjdle  of  1      ,         

the  eclipfe,  -  -  j    5     5 

Deduft  the  half  duration,  ^         -  i  46  25 

f 

Peginning  of  the  cclipfe»       -  -        55    5  SS 

Add  the  whole  duration,         -  -  3  3*5© 

End  of  the  eclipfe,  -         •         -         58  38  25 

D        F 

And  ,the  day  and  night  containing  together  60  n 

V  D      P       V 

30,  the  eclipfe  (hould  end  1335  before  funrife,  ac- 
<:ording  to  this  calculation. 

The  firft  day  of  the  creation,  according  to  the 
JHindiis,  was  Ravi-var^  or  Sunday :  the  number  of  days 
for  which  the  above  calculation  has  been  made,  is 
714404082947,  which,  divided  by  feven,  the  number  %* 
of  days  in  a  week  are  12057726135  weeks  and  two 
4ays ;  the  aftronomical  day  therefore  of  Soma-varj 
or  Monday^  will  end  at  midnight  preceding  the  eclipfe ; 
but  the  Soma-'var  by  civil  computation  will  continue 
to  the  next  enfuing  funrife ;  and  this  Soma^var^  by  cal- 
culating the  number  of  days  elapfed  from  the  inftant 
the  fun  entered  the  fign  Tula^  to  his  advance  of  1 9°  54' 
on  that  fign,  will  be  found  to  fall  on  the  19th  of  the 
month  Cariic^  anfwering  to  the  third  of  November* 


a86       ON  THE  ASTRONOMICAL  COMPUTATIONS 

The  time  of  the  full  moon  and  the  duration  of  the 
cclipfe,  found  by  this  computation,  differ  confideiably 
from  the  Nautical  Almanac.  The  Siddhanta  RqhaJ^d 
and  Grahalaghava^  comparatively  modern  treatifes^ 
are  nearer  the  truth,  yet  far  from  correft.  The 
Hindus^  in  determining  thefe  phenomena,  are  iacisfied 
^hcn  within  a  few  minutes  of  the  true  time. 


.1 


OF    THE    HINDUS* 


297 


^  coniparatlve  Statement  of  this  Eclipfe  as  prediffed  in 
the  JSautical  Almanac^  with  computations  of  it  made 
by  different  Hindu  books.  Thofe  marked  (*)  aremadd 
for  different  meridiafiSy   the  Iqfi  I  believe  for  Tirhut. 


Siirya  Siddhanta, 
Tables  of  Macaranda, 
*  Grahalaghava, 
Siddhauta  Kahafya, 


NAMES. 


Equaled  longitude  tor  midpight'at 
Bhagalpur^  fuppofed  in  8°  50'  E-  from 
Lanca^  and  §8°  E.  from  Greenivich. 


Snrya  Siddkanta, 
Tables  of  Macaranda, 
*  Grahalaghava, 
Siddhanta  Rahafya, 

Nautical  Almanac. 


The  Sun, 


II 


6  19  54  II 
6  19  55     9 

6    19    54    2Q 


The  Moon, 


II 


S      ^      ' 

—  17  28  a8 

—  17  30     9 


—  17  16  2^ I  —  27  35 


The  N^ik. 


I   —  31   44 

I  —  3*    7 


Add  to  each  the  ayanan/a  19°  21'  27" 
for  the  longitude  counted  according  to 
European  ailronomers  from  the  Equi- 
noctial colure. 


T 


S  o  ' 

7  9  15  38 

7  9  '^  3^ 

7  9  'S  56 


s 

I 


6 
6 


49  SS 
51  36 


I     6    37  52 


7  147        81     7     50  (;8 


I  19  53  II 
I  19  S3  54 

I  19  49    2 


I  19  45  30 


Surya  Siddhanfa, 
Tables  of  Macaranda, 

Grahalaghava, 
Siddhanta  Rahafya, 
*  Grahana  Mala,  a  Ca- 
talogue of  Eclipfes 
Nautical  Almanac. 


;} 


hrom   midnight    to   the 
middle  of  the  Ecliple. 


Hindu  time*     Engli/htime. 


D.   V.    P. 

12  53  — 

*i4  50  — 

13  53  — 
16    6  — 

J^  —  37 


H.    M.    S. 
?     9  " 

5  56- 

5  33  — 

6  26  24 


Duration  ol:  cue 
Eclipfe. 


Hindu  titne  Eug,  tims 


^   24   5 


D.  P.  V. 

3  la  50 

4  50  —I 

5  18 --I 

4  58  — 

5  26  — 


i 


dL^ 


H.  M.  S. 

I  17  8 
46  20 
5636 
49  16 


2   10  24 


1_9 


• 


i 


* 

ON    THE 

ANTiqUITY  OF  THE  INDIAN  ZODIAC. 


BY    THE    PRESIDENT. 


J  ENGAGE  to  fupport  an  opinion  (which  the  learn- 
ed and  induftrious  M.  Montucla  feems  to  treat  with 
extreme   contempt)  that  the  hidian  divifion  of  the 
Zodiac  was  not  borrowed  from  the  Greeks  or  Arabsy 
but,  having  been  known  in  this  country  from  time 
immemorial,  and  being  the  fame  in  part  with  that  ufed 
by  other  nations  of  the  old  Hindu  race,  was  probably 
invented  by  the  firft  progenitors  of  that  race  before 
their  difperfion.     •*  The  Indians^^  he  fays,  "  have  two 
divifions  of  the_Zodiac;  one,    like  that  of  the 
Arabs^    relating  lo  the  moon,,  and  confifting  of 
twenty-feven  equal  parts,    by  whidi  they  can  tell 
very  nearlythe  hour  of  the  night ;   another  relating 
to  the  fun,  and,  like  ours,  containing  twelve  figns, 
**  to  whicK  tliey  have  given  as  many  names,  corref- 
**  ponding  with  ihofe  which  we  have  borrowed  from 
**  lYitQreeh'^     All  that  is  true;  but  he  adds,  *' It 
•^  is  highly  probable  that  they  received  them  at  fome 
'^^  time  or  another  by  the  intervention  of  the  Arabs ; 
*•  for  no  man,  furely ,  can  pei  fuade  himfelf,  that  it  is  the 
*'  ancient  divifion  of  the  Zodiac,  formed,  according 
"  to   fome  authors,  by  the  forefathers  of  mankind, 
"  and  ftill  preferved  among  the  Hmdus^  Now  I  under- 
take to  prove,  that  the  huJ'ion  Zodiac  was   not  bor- 
rowed mediately  or  di refill y  from  the  Arabs  or  Greeks ; 
and,  fince  the  folai  divifion  of  it  in  India  is  the  fame 
in  fubliance  with  that  ufed  in  Greece^  we  may  reafona- 
bly  conclude,  that  both  Greeks  and  Hindus  received  it 
from  an  older  nation^  who  firfl  gave  names  to  tlie 


cc 


290  OS    THE    ANTIQUITY   OF 

luminaries  of  heaven,  and  from  whom  both  Greets 
and  Hitidus^  as  their  fimilarity  m  language  and  re* 
ligion  fully  evinces,  had  a  common  delcenc. 

The  fame  writer  afterwards  intimates,  that  *<  the 
<<  time  when  Indian  aftronomy  received  its  moft 
**  confiderable  improvement,  from  which  it  has  now, 
as  he  imagines,  wholly  declined,  was  either  the 
age  when  the  Arahs^  who  eftablifhed  themfelves 
^^  in  Perfia  and  Sogdiana^  had  a  great  intercourfe 
<^  with  the  Hindus  \  or  that,  when  the  fucceflbrs  of 
«*  Chengix  imited  both  Arabs  and  Hindus  under  oA 
•*  vaft  dominion/*  It  is  not  the  objeft  of  this  cflky 
to  correA  the  hiilorical  errors  in  the  paflagp  laft- 
cited,  nor  to  defend  the  altronomers  of  India  £rom 
the  charge  of  grofs  ignorance  in  regard  to  the  figure 
of  the  eanh  and  the  dillances  of  the  heavenly  bodies : 
a  chaise,  which  Montucia  very  boldly  makes  on  the 
authority,  I  believe,  of  Father  Soucief.  I  will  only  re- 
mark, that,  in  our  converfations  with  the  Pandits^  we 
muft  never  confound  the  fyftem  of  the  Jyauti/iicaSj 
or  mathematical  aftronomers,  with  that  of  the  Paura'^ 
nicas,  or  poetical  fabulifls ;  for  to  fuch  a  confufian 
alone  muft  we  impute  the  many  miftakes  of  Euro- 
feaiis  on  the  fubjeft  of  hulian  fcience,  A  venerable 
mathematician  of  this  province,  named  Ramachatidra^ 
now  in  his  eightieth  year,  vifited  mfe  lately  ,at  Crijk* 
varwgar ;  and  part  of  his  difcourfe  was  fo  applicable 
to  the  inquiries,  which  I  was  then  making,  that,  as 
foon  as  he  left  me,  1  committed  it  to  writing.  "  The 
«*  PuuranicSi^  he  faid,  "  will  tell  you,  that  our  eanh 
**  is  a  plane  figure,  ftudded  with  eight  mountains,  and 
"  furrounded  by  feven  feas  of  milk,  nedfaur,  and 
*•  other  fluids  ;  that  the  part  which  we  inhabit 
•^  is  one  of  feven  iflands,  to  which  eleven  fmatlcr 
**  iflcs  are  fubordinate;  that  a  God,  riding  on  a 
huge  elq^hant,  guards  each  of  the  eight  regions;  and 


cs 

€€ 
€€ 
CC 

cc 


THE    INDIAN    ZODIAC.  29I 

^*  that  a  mountain  of  gold  rifes  and  gleams  in  the 
**  centre  ;  but  we  believe  the  e^rth  to  be  fhaped  like  st 
**  Cadamba  fruit,  or  Ipheroidal,  and  admits  only  four 
**  oc6dn5  of  fait  water,  all  which  we  name  froiti  the  four 
cardinal  points,  afld  in  which  are  nianjr  gteat  pen- 
infulas,  with  innumerable  iflands.  They  will  tell  you 
that  a  dragon's  head  fwallows  the  moon,  and  thus 
caufes  an  eclipfe  :  but  we  know  that  the  fuppofed 
head  and  tail  of  the  dragon  mean  only  the  nodes,  or 
poinds  formed 'by  interfeftions  of  the  ecliptic  and 
"  moon's  orbit.  In  (hort,  they  have  imagined  a 
**  fyftem  which  exifts  only  in  their  fancy ;  but  we 
"  confider  noticing  as  true  without  fuch  evidence  as 
*^  cannot  be  qu^ftioned/*  I  could  not  perfeftly  un- 
derftand  the  old  Gymnofophift,  when  he  told  me 
that  tht  Rafichacm^  ox  ciraeof  Ji^m  [iov  io  ht  call- 
ed the  Zodiac}  was  like  a  Wmfiura  flower^  meaning 
the  Datura^  to  which  the  Sanfcrit  name  has  been 
foftened,  and  the  flower  of  which  is  conical,  or  (haped 
like  a  funnel.  At  firft  1  thought  that  he  alluded  to  a 
projection  of  the  hemifphere  on  the  plane  of  the 
cojure,  and  to  the  angle  formed  by  the  ecliptic  and 
equiator  ;  but  a  younger  aftronomer,  named  Vinayaca^ 
who  came  forward  to  fee  me,  aflured  nie  that  they 
meant  only  the  circular  mouth  of  the  funnel,  or  the  bafe 
of  the  cone  ;  and  that  it  was  ulual  amoijig  their  ancient  • 
writers  to  borrow  from  fruit  and  flowers  their  appella- 
tions of  feveral  plane  and  folid  figures. 

From  the  two  Bralmani^  whom  I  have  juft  named,  |p^ 
I  learned  the  following  curious  particulars ;  and  you 
may  depend  on  my  accuracy  iri  repeating  them,  fince 
I  wrote  them  in  their  prefence,  as  well  as  correfted 
what  I  had  written,  rill  they  pronounced  it  perfeft- 
They  divide  a  great  circle,  as  we  do,  into  three  hun- 
dred and  fixty  degrees,  called  by  them  avfas^  or  />or- 
tions ;  of  which  they,  like  us,  allot  thirty  to  each  of 
the  twelve  figns,  in  this  order : 

Vol.  II.  U 


2^Z  ON    THE    ANTIQUITY    OP 

MeJliOy  the  Ram.  Tulc^^  the  Balance. 

Vrijlia^  the  Bull.  8.  Vrljhchica^  the  Scorpion* 
MiChuna^  the  Pair,  Dhanusj  the  Bow. 

4.  Carcata^  the  Crab.  Macara^  the  Sea-monfter« 

SinAa,  the  Lion.  Cumbhoj  the  Ewer. 

Canycy  the  Virgin.  12.  Mina^  the  Fifli» 

The  figures  of  the  twelve  aftcrifms,  thus  denominat- 
ed with  refpeft  to  the  Ibn,  are  fpecified  by  Sripetiy  au- 
thor of  the  Retnanialay  in  Satifctit  verfesj  which  I  pro- 
duce as  my  vouchers  in  the  original,  with  a  verbal 
tranflation  i 

Mefhadayo  nama,  famanarupi, 
Vinagadadhyam  mit'hunam  nriyugmam^ 
JPradipafafye  dadhati  carabhyam 
Navi  ft'hita  varini  canyacaiva. 
Tula  tulabhrit  pretimanapanir 
Dhanur  dhanufhman  hayawat  parangah 

Mrigananah  fyan  macaro'tha  cumbhah 

Scandhe  ncro  ridlaghatam  dadhanah, 

Anyanyapuchch'habhimuc'h«  hi  minah 

Matfyadwayam  fwaft'halacharinomi. 

"  The  ram^  hidly  crah,  Uo7i,  and/rorpioriy  have  the 
*^  figures  of  tliofc  five  animals  refpeftively  ;  the  pair^ 
**  are  a  damfel  playing  on  a  vina,  and  a  youth  wielding 
a  mace ;  the  virgm  flands  on  a  boat  in  water,  hold- 
ing in  one  hand  a  lamp,  in   the  other  an  car  of 
rice-corn ;  the  haJufice  is  held  by  a  weigher  with  a 
*^  weight  in  one  hand  j  the  boiv,  by  an  archer,  whofc 


■-»*. 


■\ 


THE    IH9IAN    ZODIAC 


»9J 


*•  hinder  parts  arc  like  thofc  of  ahorfe;  thtfjfikz* 
**  monjter  has  the  face  of  an  antelope;  the  ewer  is^ 
•*  water  pot  borne  on  the  (houlder  of  a  man,  who 
^*  empties  it ;  the  jf^  are  two,  with  their  heads  turned 
^  •  to  each  other*s  tail :  and  all  thefe  are  fuppbfed  to 
•  •  be  in  fuch  places  as  fuit  their  feveral  natures." 


To  each  of  the  ttventy-feven  lunar  ftations>  which 
they  call  nacjhatrasy  they  allow  thirteen  airfas  and 
one  third,  or  thirteen  degrees  twenty  minutes ;  and  their 
names  appear  in  the  order  of  the  figns,  but  without 
any  regard  to  the  figures  of  them. 


Afwini. 

Jlfagha^ 

Mula. 

Bharani* 

pQrva  p'halgunL 

Vxir^zjhadha^ 

Critica^ 

XixXTLXTL/lhalgunu 

Uttarafhadha. 

Rohini. 

Hafta. 

Sravana. 

AlrigaJiraU 

Chitra.         '^ 

Dhaniihta. 

Ardra. 

Swati. 

Satabhifha. 

Punarvafu* 

nfac'ha. 

Purva  hhadrajiada, 

PuJ/iya. 

Anuradha. 

U  ttarabhadrapada, 

9.  Afieflia.      18. 

.  Jytjliiha.             17, 

.  Revati* 

Between  the  twenty- firft  and  twerity-fecond  conftel- 
lations,  we  find  in  the  plate  three  ftars,  called  Abhijiti 
but  they  are  the  laft  quarter  of  the  afterifm  immedi- 
ately preceding,  or  the  latter  AJhar^  as  the  word  is  com- 
monly pronounced.  A  complete  revolution  of  the 
moon,  with  refpedt  to  the  ffiats,  being  made  in  twen- 
ty-feven  days,  odd  hours,  minutes,  and  feconds,  and 
perfeA  cxaftnefs  being  either  not  attained  by  the 
•  ■■■      ^  U   a 


294  ON    "TH^    ANTIQITITT    OF 

indus^  or  not  acquired  by  them,  they  fixed  on  the 
^umber  twenty-feven,  and  infcrted  ^bhijit  for  fomc 
^ilrological  purpofe  in  their  nuptial  ceremonies. 
The  drawing,  from  which  the.  plate  was  engraved, 
feems  intended  to  reprelent  the  figures  of  the  twenty- 
feven  conflellations,  together  with  Abhifit^  as  they 
are  defcribed  in  three  Itanzas  bv  the  author  of  the 
Retnamula  : 


I.  Turagamuc^hafadricfliam  yonirupam  cfhurabkam^ 
Sacatafamatn  at'hainasyottamangena  tulyam, 
Manigrihafara  chacrabhani  falopamara  bham^ 
Sayanaradriramanyachchatra  paryancarupam. 

?•  Haftacarayutam  cha  mauAicafamam 

chanyat  ptravalopamam, 
Dhrlfliyam  torana  fannibham  balinibhamt 

fatcundalabham  param ; 
CrudhyatcefariYicramena  fadrifam, 

fayyafamanam  param,  •  j 

Anyad  dcntivilafavat  ft'hitamatah 

fringatacavyafti  bham. 

3.  Trivicramabham  cha  mridangarupam, 
Vrittam  tatonyadyamalabhwayabham, 
Paryancarupam  murajanucaram, 
Ityevam  afwadibhachacrarupam. 

**  A  horfe*s  head,  yoni  or  hhaga^  a  razor,  a  whecl- 
*'  ed  carriage,  the  head  of  an  antelope,  a  gem,  a 
<*  houfe,  an  arrow,  a  wheel,  another   houfe,  a  bcd- 
*^  (lead,  another  bedftead,  a  hand,  a   pearl,  a  piece 
**  of  coral,  a  feftoon  of  leaves,  an  oblation  to  tli€k 
<^  Gods,  a  rich  ear-ring,  the  tail  of  a  fierce  lion,  * 
"  couch,  the  tooth  of  a  wanton  elephant,  near  whicH 


4« 


THE*  INDIAN    ZODIAC.  £9^ 

is  the  kernel  o§  the  Jringaiaca-nuty  the  three  footr 
fieps  of  Vijhnu^  a  tabor,  a  circular  jewel,  a  two-faced 
image,  another  couch,  and  a  fmaUer  fort  of  t^bor ; 
fuch  are  the  figures  of  AJw'tni  and  the  reft  in  the 


♦•  circle  of  lunar  conftellations." 


The  Hindu  draughtfman  has  very  ill  reprefented 
moft  of  the  figures  ;  and  he  has  tranlpofed  the  two 
Ajharas  as  well  as  the  two  Bhadrapads ;  but  his  figure 
of  jibhijity  which  looks  like  our  ace  of  hearts,  has  a 
rcfemblance  t6  the  kernel  of  the  frapa :  a  curious 
water-plant  defcribed  in  a  feparate  effay.  In  another 
Sanfcrit  book,  the  figures  of  the  fame  CQnftellations  arc 
thus  varied ; 


A  horfe's  head.  A  flraight  tail.  A  couch* 

Toni^  or  bhaga.  Two  ftars  S,  to  N.       A  winnowing  faiu 

A  flame.  Two,  N.  to  S.  Another. 

A  waggon.  A  hand.  An  arrow. 

A  cat*8  paw.  A  pcarU  A  tabor. 

One  bright  Har.  Red  faffron.  A  circle  of  ftars. 

A  bow.  A  feftoon.  A  fta£f  for  bardet». 

A  child's  pencil.  A  fnake.  The  beana  of  a  balance* 
9.  A  dog's  tail.     18.  A  boar's  head.     27.  A  fifh. 

From  twelve  of  the  afterifms  juft  enumerated,  arc 
derived  the  names  of  the  twelve  Indian  months,.  ij>  the 
ufual  form  of  patronymcis ;  for  the  Pauranics^  who 
reduce  all  nature  to  a  fyftem  of  emblematical  my- 
thology,  fuppofe  a  celeftial  nymph  to  prefide  over 
each  of  the  confiellations,  and  feign  that  the  God 
Soma,  or  Lunus^  having  wedded  twelve  of  them,  be- 
came the  father  of  twelve  Genii,  or  months,  who  are 
named  ^cr  th^ir  fcveral  mothers  ;  but  the  Jy^uti^i^ 


Ig6  ON   THE    ANTIQUITY    OP 

COS  aflert,  that,  when  their  lunar  year  was  arranged  by 
former  aftronomers^  the  moon  was  at  the  full  in  each' 
month  on  the  very  day  when  it  entered  the  nac/iairai 
from  which  that  month  is  denominated.  The  naan- 
ner  in  which  the  derivatives  are  formed,  will  beft  ap- 
pear by  a  comparifon  of  the  months  with  their  feveial 
conflellations : 


Afwina. 

Chaitra, 

Cartica, 

8.  Vaifac»ha. 

Margafirfha. 

Jyaiflitlia. 

4«  Paufha. 

Afliara, 

Magha. 

Sravana. 

Phalguna. 

12.  Bhadra« 

The  third  month  is  alfo  called  Agrahayana  ^whence 
the  common  wprd  Jgran  is  corrupted)  from  another 
name  of  Mrigajiras. 

■ 
Nothing  can  be  more  ingenious  than  the  niemoriaj 
veifcSj  in  which  the  Hindus  have  a  cuftom  of  link- 
ing .  together  a  number  of  ideas  otherwjfe  connededi 
and  of  chaining,  as  it  were,  the  memory  by  a  regular 
meafure  :  thus  by  putting  teeth  for  thirty-two  ;  Rudra 
for  eleven  '^feafoti  for  fix  ;  arrow  or  element  for  five; 
ocean^  Veduj  or  age^  for  four ;  Ra77ia,  jire^  or  quality^ 
for  three  ;  eye^  or  Cumara^  for  two  ;  and  earth  or  moon 
for  one,  they  have  compofed  four  lines,  which  exprefs 
the  number  of  ftars  in  each  of  the  twenty-fevcn  af- 
terifms : 

r 

Vahni  tri  ritwifhu  gunendu  critagnibhuta, 
Banafwinetra  fara  bhucu  yugabdhi  ramah^ 
Rudrabdhiramagunavedafata  dwiyugma, 
Dcnta  budhairabhihitah  cramafo  bhatarah. 


THE  INDIAN   ZODIAC,  297 

That  is,  "  three,  three,  fix ;  five,  three,  one ; 
^*  four,  three,  five  j  five  two,  two ;  five,  one,  one ; 
**  four,  four,  three ;  eleven,  four,  and  three  ;  three 
**  four,  an  hundred;  two,  two,  thirty-two.  Thus  have 
•*  the  ftars  of  the  lunar  conftellations,  in  the  order  as 
**  they  appear,  been  numbered  by  the  wife." 

If  the  ftanza  was  correftly  repeated  to  me,  the 
two  AJharas  are  confidered  as  one  afterifm,  and 
Ahhijit  as  three  feparate  ftars ;  but  I  fufpedl  an  error 
in  the  third  line,  becaufe  dwibana^  or  two  andfive^ 
would  fuit  the  metre  as  well  as  hdhirama  \  and  becaufe 
there  were  only  three  Vedas  in  the  early  age,  when,  it 
is  probable,  the  ftars  were  enumerated,  and  the  tech-^ 
nical  verfe  compofed. 

Two  lunar  ftations,  or  inanfions^  and  a  quarter  are 
co-extenfive,  we  fte,  with  one  fign ;  and  nine  ftations 
corrrfpond  with  four  figns.  By  counting,  therefore^ 
thirteen  degrees  and  twenty  minutes  from  the  firft  ftar 
in  the  head  of  the  Ram,  inclufively,  we  find  the 
whole  extent  of  Afwini^  and  (hall  be  able  to  afcertain 
the  other  ftars  with  fufficient  accuracy ;  but  firft  let 
us  exhibit  a  comparative  table  of  both  Zodiacs ^  de- 
noting the  manfions,  as  in  the  Faran^s  Almanac,  by 
|he  fim  letters  or  fyllablcs  of  their  lunvbs : 


U  4 


2^8 


ON    THE    ANTIQUITY    Of 


Mojiths. 

Solar 
^fier'tjms. 

Manfious. 

• 

Afwin 

Mefti 

^A    +   bh 

+  JS, 

Cartic 

VriOi 

^^    +    ro 

4 

+  t. 

Agrahayan 

Mit'hun 

—   +     a 

+  i 

PauQi 

'J 

Carcat    4. 

Lf+  p 

+  4.  9, 

Magh 

Sinh 

rm  +  PU 

+  z 

P'halgun 
Chaitr 

Canysi 

Tula                 ^ 

ch 

T  +    s 

+  j: 

Vaifac'h 

Vrifchic     8. 

V 

• 

+  3  **' 

Jaifht'h 

Dhan 

^mu  +  pu 

+|2i 

Aftiar 

Macar 

T    +    S 

+  ^ 

Sravan 

Cumbh 

dh 

z        +      S 

+    3J^ 

it 

Bhadr 

Min     \i. 

4 

+  r.   %i. 

Hence  we  may  readily  know  .the  ftars  in  each  mail- 
fion,  as  they  follow  in  order : 


Lunar 
Manjiotts, 

Afwini. 
Bharani. 
Critica. 
Rohini. 

Mrigafiras, 

Ardra. 


Solar 
Afitrijms, 

Ram. 


Bull 


Pair 


{ 


Staru 

Three  in  and  near  the  head 

Three  in  the  tail. 

Six  of  the  pleiads. 

Five  in  the  head  and  neck. 

Three  in  or  near  the  feeti 

perhaps  in  the  Galaxy, 
Onp  on  the  knee. 


THE    INDIAN- ZODIAC. 


■3 
o 

<a 


3  -S  -S  i 


i> 


(^hi*;6 


a. 2 


\r 


300  ON  THE  a::tiqJ'Ity  of 

Wherever  the  Indian  drawing  differs  from  the  mc^ 
morial  verfe  inihe  Re/nama/aj  1  have  preferred  the  au- 
thority of  the  writer  to  that  of  the  painter,  who  has 
drawn  fomc  terreftrial  things  with  fo  little  fimilitudc, 
that  we  muft  not  implicitly  rely  on  his  reprefcntation 
of  objects  merely  celcflial.  he  fecms  particularly  to 
have  erred  in  the  ftars  Dhauijlit'a. 

For  the  affiftance  of  thofe  who  may  be  iaclined  to 
re-examine  the  twenty  levcn  conftellations  with  a 
chart  before  them,  I  tubjoin  ^  table  of  the  degrees 
to  which  the  naejhatras  extend  refpedlively  from  the 
firft  ftar  in  the  afterifm  of  Ariesy  which  we  now  (ee 
near  the  beginning  of  the  fign  laurus^  as  it  was 
placed  in  the  ancient  fphere. 


N. 

D.    M.  N. 

D.     M. 

.    N. 

V.    M, 

I. 

13°.  20'. 

X. 

133°.  20'. 

XIX. 

256O  a(^ 

II. 

i(P.  40'. 

XI. 

146^.  40'. 

XX. 

260°  40'. 

III. 

40°.  0'. 

XJI. 

160°.   0'. 

XXI. 

280°    </, 

IV. 

53°.  =0'. 

xni. 

173°  20'. 

XXII. 

293°.  20'. 

V. 

66°.  40'. 

XIV. 

iS6^.  40'. 

XXIII. 

306O  ^q'. 

VI. 

8o«.    0'. 

XV. 

200^.    0'. 

XXIV. 

320°.    0'. 

VII. 

93^.  10'. 

XVI. 

2130.20'. 

XXV. 

333°-  ^^' 

VIII. 

106°.  40'. 

XVII. 

226^\    4c'. 

XXVI. 

346°.  4or. 

IX. 

120*^.    C'. 

XVill. 

240°.     0'. 

XXVII. 

360°  0'. 

The  aflerifms  of  the  Jirji  column  are  in  the  figns 
of  TauruSy  Gemini^  Cancer ^  Leo  j    thofe  of  ihe/econJf 
in  Virgo y   lAbra^  Scorpio^  Sagittarius  ;    and  thofe  ot 
the    thirdy   in    CapricornuSy   Aquarius^   PifieSy  Jries* 
We  cannot  very   much  err,  therefore,   in  any  ferics 
of  three  conftellations;    for,  by  counting  13°  20'  fof-* 
wards  and  backwards,  we  find  the  fpaces  occupied  by 
the  two  extremes,  and  the  intermediate  (pace  belongs 


THE    INDIAN  ZODIAC.  5OI 

of  courfe  to  the  middlemoft.     It  Is   not  meant  that 
the  divifion  of  the  Hindu  Zodiac  into  fuch  fpaces  is 
cxaft  to  a  minute,  or  chat  every  ftar  of  each  afterifm 
muft  neceflarily  be  found    in  the  fpace  to  which  it 
belongs ;  but  the  computation  will  be  accurate  enough 
for  our  purpofe ;   and  no  lunar  manfion  can  be  very 
remote  from  the  path  of  the  moon.    How  Father  Sou^ 
ciet  could  dream  that  Flfac^ha  was   in   the  Northern 
Crown,   I   can  hardly  comprehend  ;    but  it  furpaf- 
fes  all  comprehenfion  that  M.  BaiUy  (hould  copy  his 
dream,  and  give  reafons  to  fupport  it ;    efpecially  as 
four  ftars,  arranged  pretty  much  like  thofe  in  the  In- 
</w7z  figure,  prefent  themfelves  obvioiifly  near  the  Ba- 
lance, or  the  Scorpion,     f  have  not  the  boldnefs  to 
exhibit  the   individual  ftars  in  each  manfion,  diftiu'- 
guifhed  m  Bayer  s  method,  by  Greek  letters,  beca^, 
though,  I  have  little  doubt  that  the  five  ftars  oiAjleJha^ 
in  the  form  of  a  wheel,  are  *»>  y»  f>  /*>  «>  of  the  Lion^  and 
thofe  of  Mida  y>  •>  ^»  f»  ^»  t,  <r, » ,  o,  |,  «•,  of  the  Sagittary  : 
and  though  I  think  many  of  the  others  equally  clear, 
yet,  where  the  number  of  ftars  in  a  manfion  is  lefs 
than  three,  or  even  than  four,  it  is  not  eafy  to  fix  on 
them  with  confidence  ;    and  I  muft  wait,  until  fome 
young  Hindu  aftronomer,  with  a  good  memory  and 
good  eyes,  can  attend  my  leifure  on  ferene  nights  at 
the  proper  feafons,  to  point  out  in  the  firmament  it- 
felf  the  fcveral  ftars  of  all  the  conftellations  for  which 
he  can  find   names  in  the  Sariffrit  language.     The 
only  ftars,  except  thofe  in  the  ZodiaCy  that  have   yet 
been  diftinftly  named  tome,  are  the  Septarjhiy  Dhruva^ 
Arundhatij   V'tjhmipad^   Matrimandel\     and,    in   the 
fouthern    hemifphere,  jigqftyay    or   Canopus.      The 
twenty-feven    Yoga    ftars,    indeed,    have    particular 
names,  in  the  order  of  the  tiacjhatrasy  to  which  they 
belong  ;    and  fince  we  learn*  that  the  Hindus  have 


<ii^ 


Sec  p.  270. 


:o2 


ON    THE    ANTIQUITY    OF 


determined  the  JaUluSe^  longiiudey  and  rhht  qfciufion 
of  eachy  it  might  be  ufcful  to  exhibit  the  hll  of  them : 
but  at  prefent  I  can  only  fubjoin  the  names  of  twenty-* 
ibvcn  \'ogiis^  or  divifions  of  the  Ecliptic. 


Vijlicamhha. 

Gd?ida. 

Parigha. 

Prill. 

Vriddhi. 

Siva. 

ufyujlimat. 

Dhrwva. 

Siddha. 

Sauhhagya. 

Tyaghata^ 

Saddhya, 

Sohha7ia. 

HerJJiana. 

Subha. 

AUganda. 

Vajra. 

Sucra. 

Sticarmatu 

Ajrij. 

Brahmafu 

Dhrin. 

VyaUpata. 

Indra. 

Sula. 

Variyas. 

Vaidhrit'u 

Having  lliown  in  what  manner  the  Hindus  arrange 
the  Zodiacal  ftars  with  rcfpeft  to  the  fun  and  moon, 
let  us  proceed  to  our  principal  fubjeft,  the  antiquity  of 
that  double  arrangernefit.  In  the  firft  place,  the  Brah" 
vmns  were  always  too  proud  to  borrow  their  fcicnce 
from  the  Creeks  ^  Arabs j  Mogtdsy  or  any  nation  of 
Mlechch'has^  as  they  call  thole  who  are  ignorant  of 
the  Vedasy  and  have  not  ftudied  the  language  of  the 
Gods.  They  have  often  repeated  to  me  the  fragment 
of  an  old  verfe,  which  they  now  ufe  proverbially,  na 
7iicho yavatiatparahy  or  nobafe  creature  can  below^erthan 
a  Yavan  i  by  which  name  they  formerly  meant  an  Ionian 
or  Greeks  and  now  mean  a  Moguls  or  generally,  a  Mt^ 
fehnan.  When  I  mentioned  to  different  P.'^;/^//^,  at  fe- 
veral  times,  and  in  feveral  places,  theppinion  oiMontu^ 
cla^  they  could  not  prevail  on  themfelves  to  oppofe  it  by 
ferious  argument ;  but  fome  laughed  heartilyj  oihers» 
wicli  a  farcaftic  fmile,  faid  it  was  a  pleafayit  imagina^ 
lion  ;■  and  all  fecined  to  think  it  a  notion  bordering 
on  phrenzy.     In  fndt,  akhough  the  figures  of  thsj 


■  i 


' 


•  .m 


I- 


V 


5- 


S 

N 


h 


^ 


0} 


■h 

i 

I 

i-H 


«) 


1    i 


^ 


s 


^^ 


^ 


^ 


■is 
I 


THE  liJDlAN  ZODIAC.  303 

ttvelve  ^Indian  ligns  bear    a   wondei  ful   refemblancc 
to  thofe  of  the  Greciariy  yet  they  are  too  much  varied 
for  a  mere  copy,  and  the  nature  of  the  variation  proves 
them  to  be  original ;  nor  is  the  refemblance  more  ex- 
traordinary than  that,  which  has  often  been  obferved^ 
between  our  Gothic  days  of  the  week  and  thofe  of  the 
HinduSy  which  are  dedicated  to  the  fame  luminaries^ 
and  (what  is  yet  more  fingular)  revolve  in  the  fame 
order  :  Ra'vi^  the  Sun  ;  Soma^  the  Moon  ;    MangaJa^ 
Tuifco ;  BudhUy  Woden  ;  Vr'ihafpatu  Thor  ;    Sucra^ 
Freya  j  Sani^  Sater;    yet  no  man  ever  imagined  that 
the  Indians  borrowed  fo  remarkable  an  arran2;ement 
from  the  Gof/is  or  Gernmns,     On   the   planets  I  will 
only  obferve,  that  Sucra^  the  regent  of  Venus^  is,  like 
all  the  reft,  a  male  deity,   named   alfo    UfanaSj  and 
believed  to  be  a  fage  of  infinite  learning ;  but  Zohrahf 
the  Naliid  of  the  Verjians^  is  a  goddefs  like  the  Freya 
of  our  Saxon  progenitors.     The  drawing,  therefore,  of 
the  planets,  which  was  brought  into  Bengal  by  Mr. 
JolinfoHy  relates  to  the  Perftan  fyftem,  and  reprefents 
the  genii  fuppofed  to  prefide   over  them,   exaftly  as 
they  are  defcribed  by  the  poet  Hatifi:  "  He  bedecked 
**  the  firmament  with  ftars,  and  ennobled  this  earth 
**  with  the  race  of  men  ;    he  gently  turned  the  aufpi- 
**  cious  new  moon  of  the  fellival,  like  a  bright  jewel, 
**  round  the  ancle  of  the  fky  ;    he  placed  the  Hindu 
**  Satzirn  on  the  feat  of  that  reftive  elephant,   the  re- 
**  volving  fphere,  and  put  the  rainbow  into  his  hand, 
**  as  a  hook  to  coerce  the  intoxicated  beak  ;  he  made 
filken  ftrings  of  fun-beams  for  the  lute  of  Venus  \ 
and  prefented  Jupiter^  who  faw  the  felicity  of  true 
**  religion,  with  a  rofary  of  cluftering  pleiads.     The 
<*  bow  of  the  {ky  became  that  of  Mars  when  he  was 
/*  honoured  with  the  command  of  the  celeftiai  hoft ; 
*^  for  (?o^  conferred  fovereignty  on  the  Sun  ;  and  fqua- 
**  drons  of  ftars  were  his  army." 


304 


ON    THE    ANTIQUITY  OF 


The  names  and  forms  of  the  lunar  confteUatioas^ 
efpecially  of  Bharani  ^,n(\yl/fhiji^j  indicate  a  fimplicity 
oi  manners  peculiar  to  an  ancient  people ;  and  they 
differ  entirely  from  thofe  of  the  Arabian  fyftem,  in 
which  the  very  ftrft  afterifm  appears  in  the  dual  num- 
ber, becaufc  it  confills  only  of  two  ftars.  Menzily  or 
the  place  of  alighting y  properly  fignifies  a  ^^ //o«,  or 
Jtage^  and  thence  is  ufed  for  an  ordinary  day'syowfTig^ j 
and  that  idea  feems  better  applied  than  man/ion  to  fo 
inceffant  a  traveller  as  the  moon  ;  the  menazilu^l iamar^ 
or  lunar  Jtages^  of  the  Arabs  have  twenty-eight  names, 
in  the  following  order,  the  particle  al  being  under- 
flood  before  every  word  : 


Sharatan. 

Nat  h  rath  • 

Cjhafr. 

Dhabili. 

Butain. 

Tarf. 

Zubaniyah. 

Bulaa. 

Thurayya. 

Jabhah. 

Tclil. 

Suud* 

Debaran« 

Zubrah, 

Kalb. 

Akhbiya. 

Hakaah, 

Sarfah. 

Shaulah. 

Mukdim. 

Hanaah. 

A  WW  a. 

Naaim. 

Mukhir* 

7,Dhiraa, 

14.  Simac. 

21.  licklah.    28 

;.  Rilha. 

Now,  if  we  can  truR  the  Arabian  lexicographers, 
the  number  of  (lars  in  their  fcvcral  menzils  rarely  agrees 
with  thofe  of  the  Indians ;  and  two  fuch  nations  muft 
naturally  have  o'-kfcrvLd,  and  might  naturally  have 
named,  the  principal  liars  near  which  the  moon 
palks  in  the  coiirfe  of  each  day,  without  any  com- 
munication on  the  fubicd.  There  is  no  evidence, 
indeed,  of  a  communication  between  the  Hindus 
and  Arabs  on  any  fubjecl  of  literature  or  fcience; 
for,  though  we  have  rcafon  to  believe  that  a  commer- 
cial iniercourfe  fublifted  in  very  early  times  be^ 
tween  Yemen  and  the  wcttern  coaft  of  huiia^  yet  the" 
Brahmans^  who  alone  are  pcrmitied   to  read  the  fix 


THE    INDIAN    ZODIAC.  305 

Vedangas^  one  of  which   is  the  aftronomical  Sqftruy 
were  not  then  commercial,   and,  mod  probably,  nei- 
ther could  nor  would  have   converfed  with  :Arahian 
merchants.     The  hoftile  irruption  of  the  Arabs  into 
Hindujian^  in  the  eighth  century,  and  that  of  the  Mo^ 
gttl^  under  Chengizy  in  the  thirteenth,  were  not  likely 
to  change  the  aftronomical  fyftem  of  the  Hindus  ;   but 
the  fuppofed  confequences  of  woJ^rw  revolutions  are 
out  of  the  queftion  ;    for,  if  any  hiftorital  records  be 
true,  we  know  with  as  poiitive  certainty,  that  Amarfihn 
and  Calidas  compofed  their  works  before  the  birth  of 
Chriftj  as  that  Menaiider  and  Terence  wrote  before  that 
important  epoch.     Now  the  v^tlv^  figns  and  twenty- 
feven  manjions  are  mentioned,  by  the  feveral  names 
before  exhibited,   in   a  Sanjcrit   vocabulary  by  the 
firft  of  thofe  Indian  authors  ;  and  the  fecond'ot  them 
frequently  alludes  to  Rohini  and  the  reft  by  name  in 
his  Fatal  Ring^  his  Children  of  the  Sun^  and  his  Birth 
of  Cumara  :    from  which  poem  1  produce  two   lines, 
that  my  evidence  may  not  fcem  to  be  colledled  from 
mere  cbnveri^tion  : — 

Maitre  muhurte  fafalanch'hanena, 

Yogam  gatafuttarap'halgani(hu. 

> 

*^  When  the  ftars  of  Uttarfifhalgun  had  joined  in 
•*  a  fortunate  hour  the  fawn-fpotted  moon." 

This  teftimony  being  decifive  againft  the  conje6lure 
of  M.  Montuclay  1  need  not  urge  the  great  antiquity 
oiMeniCs  Inftitutes,  in^vvhich  the  twenty-feven  after- 
ifms  are  called  the  daughters  of  Dacfha  and  the  Con- 
forts  of  So7na^  or  the  Moon  ;  nor  rely  on  the  teftimony 
of  the  BrahnanSy  who  afTure  me  with  one  voice,  that 
the  names  of  iht  Zodiacal  ftars  occur  \ni\\c  Fedasi 
three  of  which  I  firmly  believe,  from  internal  and 
external  evidence,  to  be  more   than   three  thoufand 


506  ON  THE  ANTIQJJITV  OF  THE  INDIAN  ZODIAC* 

years  old.  Having  therefore  proved  what  I  engaged  10 
prove,  I  will  clofe  my  efay  with  a  general  obfervatibli. 
The  refult  of  New^on*s  refearches  into  the  hiftory  of 
the  primitive  fphere  was,  •^  that  the  praftice  of  obfer- 
*^  ving  the  flars  began  in  Egypt  in  the  days  of  Ammotiy 
'^  and  was  propagated  thence  by  conqueft  in  the  Deign 
•*  of  his  fon  Sifac^  into  Ajrlca^  Europe^  and  AJia  \ 
•^  fince  which  time  Atlas  formed  the  fphere  of  the  Zy- 
**  hians  \  Chiron^  that  of  the  Greeks  ;  and  the  ChaU 
*'  deatis^  2l  fphere  of  their  own,"  Now  I  hope,  on 
fome  other  occafions,  to  fatisfy  the  public,  as  I  have 
perfcftly  fatisfied  myfelf  that  *'  the  praftice  of  ob» 
"  ferving  the  ftars  began,  with  the  rudiments  of  civil 
fociety,  in  the  country  of  thofe  whom  we  call  ChaU 
deans  ;  from  which  it  Was  propagated  into  Egypt, 
•'  Indiay  Greece^  Italy ^  and  Scaridhmvia^  before  the 
*'  reign  of  Si/a f  or  Sarya,  who  by  conqueft  fpreada 
•*  new  fyftcm  of  religion  and  philofophy  from  the 
Nile  to  the  Ganges  about  a  thoufand  year?  before  . 
Chrifi ;  but  that  Chiron  and  ^itias  were  allegorical 
or  mythological  perfonages,  and  ought  to  have  no 
place  in  the  fcrious  hilrory  of  our  fpecies/* 


«c 


XVII: 

'Accoim  OF  THE  kiNGDOM  OF  h'iPJL, 

BT  FATHER  GtOSEPPE, 
Prrfeff  of  the  Ronian  Mtffton. 


^  «  J 


COMMUNICATED    BY   JOHN   SHORE,   tS(ii 


iTlriHE  kingdom  of  iV(?/>^/  is  fitiiated  to  the  north- 
I  baft  of  Phna.  at  the  dlftaiice  of  ten  or  eleven 
da)r8Jodrney  from  that  city:  The  common  road  to  it 
lies  through  the  kin^ddm  6(  Macwa?ipur  i  but  the  mif- 
fionafies  arid  rtiany  other  perfons  enter  it  ori  the  Beftia 
quarter.  Within  the  diftancfe  of  four  days  journey 
from  Nepal  J  the  road  is  good  in  the  plairis  of  Hin* 
"dujian  }  but  in  the  mountains  it  is  bad,  narrow^  and 
dangerous;  At  the  foot  of  the  hills  the  country  is 
called  Teriani }  and  there  the  air  is  very  uriwholefome 
from  the  middle  of  March  to  the  middle  of  Novem^ 
her ;  arid  peoplfe  in  their  palfage  catch  a.  difprder.* 
Called  in  the  language  of  that  country  AuU  which  is 
a  putrid  fever,  and  of  which  the  generality'  of  people 
who  are  attacked  \^ith  it  die  in  a  few  days  ;  but  ori 
the  plains  there  is  no  apprehenfion  of  it.  Althdughi 
the  road  be  very  narrow  and  inconvenient  for  three 
bf  four  days  at  the  paffes  of  the  hills(,  wherfe  it  is  ne- 
ccflary  to  crofs  and  rectofs  the  river  mdre  than  fifty 
times,  y^t,  oh  reaching  the  interior  mountains  before 
jrou  defcend,  you  have  aft  agreeable  profpeft  of  the 
extenfive  plain  of  Nepal,  refettibling  an  am'phitheatpe 
co^crfed  ^ith  populous  towns  and.  villages :  the  cir- 
cumference of  the  plain  is  about  200  miles,  a  little 
irregular,  and  furrounded  by  hills  on  all  fides,  fo  that 
no  perfon  earir  enter  or  commie  out  of  it  #ith(out  pa(ffin^ 
the  mountains.  ^ 

^  Vol.  II.  X 


-o8  AN    ACCOUNT    OP 

There  arc  three  principal  cities  in  the  plain,  each 
of  which  was  the  capital  of  an  independent  kingdoqi ; 
the  principal  city  of  the  three  is  fituated  to  the  north* 
ward  of  the  plain,  and  is  called  Cafhmandu :    it  con* 
tains  about  18,000  boiifes  ;  and  this  kingdom,  fiom 
fouth  to  north,  extends  to  the  diftance  of  twelve  ob 
thirteen  days  journey ;  as  far  as  the  borders  of  TXfe/  5 
and  is  almoft  as  cxtenfive  from  eaft  to  weft.     The 
king  of  Cat'hmandu  has  always  about  fifty  thoufand 
foldiers  in  his  fervice.     The  fecond  city  to  the  fouth- 
weft  of  Cafhmandii  is  called  Lelit  Pattan^  where  I 
refided  about  four  years ;    it  contains  near  24,000 
houfes ;  the  fouthern  boundary  of  this  kingdom  is  at 
the  diflance  of  four  days  journey,  bordering  on  the 
kingdom  of  Macwanpur.     The  third  principal  city  19 
the  eaft  of  Lelit  Pattan  is  called  B'haigan  5    it  con- 
tains about   12,000  families,   extends    towards  tbc 
eaft  to  the  diftance  of  five  or  fix  days  journey,  and 
borders  upon  another  nation,  alfo  independent,  calka 
CiralaSy  who  profefs  no  religion,     Befides  thefe  three 
principal  cities,  there  are  many  other  large  and  Icfs 
confiderable  towns  or  fortrcires,  one  of  which  is  TW, 
and   another   Cipolly  each  of  which    contains   about 
8,000  houles,  and  is  very  populous.     All  thofe  towns, 
both  great  and  fmall,  arc  well  built ;   the  houfes  are 
conftrucled  of  brick,  and  are  three  or  four  ftories 
high  ;  their  apartments  arc  not  lofty  ;  they  havedoon 
and  windows  of  wood,  well  worked  and  arranged  with 
great  regularity.     Tiie  ftreets  of  all  their  towiisarc 
paved  with  brick  or  ftone,  with  a  regular  declivity 
to  carry  off  the  water.     In  almoft  every  ftrcet  of  the 
capital  towns  there  are  alfo  good  wells  made  of  ftone, 
from  which  the  water  pafles  through  feveral  ftoncr 
canals  for  the  public  benefit.     In  every  town  there  ar^ 
large  fquare  varandas,  well  built,  for  the  accommoda^ 
tion  of  travellers  and  the  public.     Thefe  varandas  are 
called  Pcili ;    and  there  are  many  of  them,  as  well  as 
•vvclls,  in  different  parts  of  the  country    for    public 


TItE    KINGDOM  OF    KEl^AL*  ^Og 

ufc.  There  are  aUb,  on  the  outfid*  of  the  great 
towns,  fmall  fquare  rcfervoirs  of  water,  faced  with 
brick,  with  a  good  road  to  walk  Upon,  and  a  large 
flight  of  fteps  for  the  convenience  of  thoic  who  choofe 
to  bathe.  A  piece  of  water  of  this  kind  on  the  out- 
fide  of  the  city  of  Cafhmandu,  w^as  at  leaft  aoo  feet 
long  on  each  fide  of  this  fquare  j  and  every  part  of  it^ 
workmanfliip  had  a  good  appearance.  ^ 

The  religion  of  Nepal  ?s  of  two  kinds ;    the  moro 

ancient  is  profeffed  by  »^ny  people  who  call  them- 

Iclves  Baryefu :    they  riuck  out  all  the  hair  from  their 

heads  •   their  drefs  ij^of  coarfe  red  woollen  cloth,  and 

they  wear  a  cap  of*^he  fame  :    they  are  confidered  as 

people  of  the  reli^ous  order;  and  their  religion  pro-^ 

hibits  them  fron*  marrying,  as  it  is  with  the  Lamas  of 

Tibet  from  viV^^  country  their  religion  was  originally 

brought;   \y^^^  Nefal dity  do  notobferve  this  rule, 

except  at  th^^  difcretion.  T hey  have  large  monafteries, 

in  which  -^^^7  ^^^  ^^^  a  feparate  apartment,  or  place 

of  abod  9    ^h^y  obferve  alio  particular  feftivals,  the 

prineK^  of  which  is  called  fatra  in  their  language, 

g^j^d  .ontinues  a  month  or  longer,  according  to  the 

pl^ure  of  the  king.     The  ceremony   confifts   ia 

/awing  an  idol,  which  at    Lelit  Patfan  is  called 

Biighero  *,  in  a  largfe  and  richly  ornamented  car,  co-» 

vered  with  gilt  copper  :  round  about  the  idol  ftand 

the  king  and  the  "^xxnzv^^Baryefm ;  and  in  this  man^ 

ncr  the  vehicle  is  almoft  every  day  drawn   throu^ 

feme  one  of  the  ftreets  of  the  city  by  the  inhabitants, 

who  run  about  beating  and  playing  upon  every  kind 

of  inftrument  their  country  affords,  which  make  ai> 

inconceivable  noife. 


.  ^  I  fuppofe  a  name  of  Bbagamat  or  Cri/bttai    but  Shar^  if 
itabadeva  ;  and  B^rif  gr  Fajri^  iDffiBS  the  fiknJtrir*^ 


SIO.  AN    ACCOCNT   OF 

The  other  religion,  the  more  common  of  the  two^ 
is  that  of  the  BrahmeftSy  and  is  the  fame  as  is  followed 
in  HlndufiaHy  with  the  difference  that  in  the  latter 
country,  the  ITmdus  being  mixed  with  the  Mohamnu* 
dansy  their  religion  alfo  abounds  with  many  prejudiceSi 
and  is  not  ftriaiy  obferved ;  whereas  in  Nepali  where 
there  are  no  Miifehiam  (except  one  Cajhnirian  mer- 
chant) the  Hindu  religion  is  pradlifed  in  its  greatcft 
purity.  Every  day  of  the  month  they  clafs  under  its 
proper  name,  when  certain  facrifices'are  to  be  per- 
formed, and  certain  prayers  oft-red  up  in  their  temples. 
The  places  of  worlhip  are  morc  in  number  in  their 
towns  than,  I  believe,  are  to  be  ft.,nd  in  the  moft  po- 
pulous and  moR  flourifliing  cui^  in  Chriftendmi 
many  of  them  are  magnificent  accortjng  to  their  ideas 
of  architecture,  and  conftrudted  at  a  v^y  confiderable 
cxpence  ;  fome  of  them  have  four  or  lyg  fquare  cu- 
polas ;  and  in  fome  of  the  temples  two  or-j^^^^  ^f  ^i^^ 
extreme  cupolas,  as  well  as  the  doors  and  windows  of 
them,  are  decorated  with  gilt  copper. 

In  the  city  of  Lelit  Pattan  the  temple  of  B^J^^ 
was  contiguous  to  my  habitation,  and  was  more  \\^^ 
able,  on  account  of  the  gold,  filver,  and  jewels  it  cl^ 
tained,  than  even  the  houfe  of  the  king.  Befidestbv 
large  temples,  there  are  alfo  many  fmall  ones,  which 
have  ftair$,  by  which  a  (ingle  perfon  may  afcend  oa 
the  outfide  all  around  them  ;  and  fome  of  thofe  fmalt 
temples  have  four  fides,  others  fix,  with  fmall  ftonc  or 
marble  pillars,  polifhed  very  fmooth,  with  two  or 
three  pyramidal  (lories,  and  all  their  ornaments  well 
gilt  and  neatly  worked,  according  to  their  ideas  of 
tafte :  and  I  think,  that,  if  Eutopeans  (hould  ever  go 
into  Isepaly  they  might  take  fome  models  from  thw 
little  temples,  efpecially  fronf  the  two  which  arc  in 
the  great  court  of  LeVii  Pattan^  before  the  royal  palace. 
On  the  outfide  of  fome  of  their  temples  there  are  alfo 
great  fquare  J)illars  of  fingle  ftones,  from  twenty  to 


.Adb-^ 


THE  iCtNGDOM    OF  KEPAL.  ^11 

thirty  feet  high,  upon  which  they  place  their  idols,  fin 
perbly  gilt.  The  greateft  number  of  their  temples 
have  a  good  (tone  (laircafe  in  the  middle  of  the 
four  fquares,  and. at  the  end  of  each  flight  of  ftairs 
there  are  lines  cut  out  of  ftones  on  both  fides.  Round 
about  their  temples  there  are  alfo  bells,  which  the  peo- 
pic  ring  on  particular  occafions ;  and  when  they  are 
at  prayers,  many  cupolas  are  alfo  quite  filled  with 
little  bells,  banging  by  cord^  iq  the  infide,  about  thd 
diftance  of  a  foot  from  each  other,  which  make  a 
great  noife  on  that  quarter  where  the  wind  conveys, 
the  found.  There  are  not  only  fuperb  temples  in 
their  great  cities,  but  alfo  within  their  caftles. 

To  the  eaftward  of  Cafhnianduy  at  the  diftance  of 
two  or  three  miles,  there  is  a  place  called  Tolu^  by 
which  there  ilows  a  fmall  river,  the  water  of  which  U 
cftcemed  holy,  according  to  their  fuperftitious  ideas ; 
and  thither  they  carry  people  of  high  rank,  when  they 
are  thought  to  be  at  the  point  of  death.  *  At  this  place 
there  is  a  tempte,  which  is  not  inferior  to  the  beft  and 
richeft  in  any  of  the  capital  cities.  They  alfo  have  it 
in  tradition,  that,  at  two  pr  three  places  in  Nepal^ 
valuable  treafures  are  concealed  under  ground.  One 
of  thofe  places  they  believe  is  Tolu ;  but  no  one  is 
permitted  to  make  ufe  of  them  except  the  king,  and 
that  only  in  cafes  of  nec^ffity.  Thofe  treafures,  they 
&y^  have  been  accumulated  in  this  manner :— When 
any  temple  had  beconie  very  rich  from  the  ofierings 
of  the  people,  it  was  defboyedi  and  deep  vaults  dug 
under  ground,' one  above  another,  in  which  the  .gpldn 
filver,  gilt  copper,  jewels,  and  every  thing  of  value 
were  depofited.  When  I  was  in  Nepali  Qainprejas^ 
king  of  Caf*hmandu^  being  in,  the  Utqioft  diftrefs  for 
money  to  pay  his  troops,  i^  ord^r  to  fupport  himfelf 
againft  Prithwinarayan^  .  ordered  fearch  to  be  made 
for  the  treafures  of  Tblu ;  and>  having  dug  to  a  con* 
fi^e^b}^  depth  under  ground, .  they  came  to  the  £i;rft 
""^' X  3  *■  '  ^  ■    "/ 


3xi  AK  AecouKT  tf 

vault ;  froiti  which  his  people  took  to  the  value  tA  t 
lac  of  rupees  in  gilt  copper,  with  which  Gambrijai 
paid  his  troops,  exclufive  of  a  number  offmall  ngures 
m  gold,  or  gilt  copper,  which  the  people  who  faid 
made  the  fearch  had  privately  carried  oflf ;  and  this 
I  know  very  well ;  becaufe  one  evening  as  I  was  walk* 
ing  in  the  country  alone,  a  poor  man,  whom  I  met 
on  the  road,  made  me  an  offer  of  a  figure  of  an  idol 
in  gold,  or  copper  gilt,  which  might  be  five  or  fix 
licca  weight,  and  which  he  cautioufly  preferved  \in- 
der  his  arm ;  but  I  declined  accepting  it.  The  peo- 
ple of  Gahiprejas  had  not  completely  emptied  the 
firft  vault,  when  ihe  army  of  Prifhwinarayan  arrived 
at  Toluj  polTefied  themfclvcs  of  the  place  where  the 
trcafure  was  depofited,  and  clofed  the  door  of  the 
vault,  having  firft  replaced  all  the  copper  there  had 
been  on  the  outfide. 

To  the  weftward  alfo  of  the  great  city  of  LeUt 
Paftan^  at  the  diftance  of  only  three  miles,  is  a  caftle 
Called  Bangaj  in  which  there  is  a  magnificent  tem- 
ple. No  one  of  the  miflionaries  ever  entered  into  this 
caftle,  becaufe  the  people  who  have  the  care  of  it 
have  fuch  a  fcrupulous  veneration  for  this  temple,  that 
no  perfon  is  permitted  to  enter  it  with  his  (hoes  on ; 
and  the  mifTionaries,  unwilling  to  fhow  fuch  refpeft 
to  their  falfe  deities,  never  entered  it.  But  when  I 
was  at  Nepalj  this  caftle  being  in  pofleffion  of  the 
people  of  Xjorc^ha^  the  commandant  of  the  caftle  ami 
of  the  two  forts  which  border  on  the  road,  being  a 
friend  of  the  miflionaries,  gave  me  an  invitation  to 
his  houfe,  as  he  had  occafion  for  a  little  phyfic  for 
himfelf  and  fome  of  his  people.  I  then^  undeMhe 
proteftion  of  the  Commandant,  entered  the  caftlo 
feveral  times,  and  the  people  durft  not  oblige  me 
to  take  off  my  fhoes.  Ont  day,  when  I  was  at  the 
Commandant's  houfe,  he  had  occafion  to  go  ihto  the 
Tnranda,  which  is  at  the  bottooi  ot  the.  great  court 


THE    ItltfGDOiMt  OF    NfiPAL*  ^13 

facing  the  temple^  wfaer^  all  the.  chiefs  dependent 
upon  hi$  orders  were  aiTembled,  and  where  alfo  was 
colleded  the  wealth  of  the  temple ;  and,  wiQiing  to 
fpeak  to  me  before  I  went  away,  he  called  me  into 
the  varanda.  From  this  incident  I  obtained  a  fight 
of  the  temple,  aijd  then  pafled  by  the  great  court 
which  was  in  frofit ;  it  is  -  entirely  marble^  .almoll 
blue,  but  interfperfed  with  large  flowfers  of  bronze 
Well-difpofed,  to  form  the  pavement  of  the  great  court- 
yard, the  magnificence  of  which  aftonifhed  me  ;  ^nd 
1  do  not  believe  there  is  another  equal  to  it  in  Europe. 

Befides  the  magnificence  of  the  temples,  which  their 
cities  and  towns  contain,  there  are  many  other  rarities. 
At  Cafhmanduj  on  one  fide  of  the  royal  garden,  there 
js  a  large  fountain,  in  which  is  one  of  their  idols^ 
called  Narayan.  This  idol  is  of  blue  ftone,  crowned 
and  ileeping  on  a  mattrefs  of  the  fame  kind  of  ftone  i 
a|id  the  idol  and  mattrefs  appear  as  floating  upon  the 
water.  This  flone -machine  is  very  large :  I  b'elieve 
k  to  be  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  long,  and  broad  ia 
proportion ;  but  well  Worked,  and  in  good  repair. 

(n  a  wall  of  the  royal  palace  of  Cafhmandu^  which 
is  built  upon  the  court  befijre  the  palace,  there  is  a 
jreat  ftone  of  a  fingle  piece^  which  is  about  fifteen 
teet  long,  and  four  or  five  feet  thick  :  on  the  top  of 
this  grear  ftone  therj^  are  four  fquare  holes  at  equal 
diftances  firom  each  ptheri  In  the  infide  of  the  wall 
they  pour  water  into  the  holes,  and  in  the  court- 
fide,  each  hole  having  a  clofed  canal,  every  perfoii 
may  draw  water  to  drink.  At  tlie  foot  of  the  ftone  \% 
a  laige  ladder^  by  which  people  afcend  to  drink; 
but  the  curiofity  of  the  ftone  confifts  in  its  being 
qvjte  covered  with  charader^  of  different  languages 
cut. upon  it.  Some  lines  contain. the  characters  of  the 
Uaguage  of  the  country ;   others  the  characters  of 

X  4   .       .  ' 


314  4iv  xtcouvr  Of 

Tibet,  others  Perjlanj  others  Greek,  befides  feveral 
others  of  different  nations ;  and  in  the  middle  there 
is  a  line  of  Roman  charaders,  which  appiears  in  this 
form  AVTOMNEW  INTER  LHIVERT  5 '  but 
none  of  the  inhabitants  have  any  knowledge  how  they 
came  there,  nor  do  they  know  whether  qx  not  any 
European  had  ever  been  in  PJepal  before  the  iniifion- 
arics,  who  arrived  there  only  the  beginning  of  th« 
prclent  century.  ~  They  are  manifcftly  two  Crenel 
names  of  fealons,  with  an  EngViJh  word  between 
Jheqi. 

There  is  alfo  to  the  northward  of  the  city  of  Gath 
mandu  a  hill  called  Smhi^  upon  which  are  fome  tombs 
of  the  Lamas  of  Tibet,  and  other  peoplcf  of  high  rank 
of  the  fame  nation.  The  monuments  are  cohltruded 
after  various  forms  5  two  or  three  of  them  arc  pyn^' 
inidal,  very  high,  arid  well  ornamented  ;  fp  that  tbiq^ 
have  a  very  good  appearance,  and  may  be  feeh  at  a 
tonfiderable  diftarice.  Round  thefe  monumentis  are 
Remarkable  ftones  covered  with '  charaders,  Whicfr 
probably  are  thie  infcriptions  of  fome  of  the  inhabit* 
ants  of  Tibet,  whofe  bones  were  interred  there.  The 
hitives  oi  Nepal  nor  only  look  upon  the  hill  as  facred^i 
but  imagine  it  is  proteded  by  their  idols';  and  front 
this  erroneous  fuppofition,  never  thought  of  Rationing 
troops  there  for  the  defence  of  it,  although  it  \>t  % 
poft  of  great  importance,  and  only  at  a  (hort  milc*i 
diftance  from  the  city ;  but'  during  the  time  of  hofti- 
lities  a  party  of  Prifhwiharayan*^  troops  being  piir- 
fued  by  thofe  of  Gainprejas,  the  former,  to  fave*thcm- 
felves,  fled  to  this  hill,  and,  appriehending  riodan^' 
ger  from  its  guardian  idols,  they  polTefftd  '  them« 
falves  of  it,  and  ereded  a  fortification  f  in  their  owii 
ftyle)  to  defend  themfelves.  In  digging  the  ditches 
Iround  the  fort,  which  were  adjoining  to  the  tomb^l, , 
they  found  confiderable  pieces  of  gold,  with'^^  qi)'ai&^ 
tity  of  which  metal  the  corpfcs  of  the  grandees  oiT$be^ 


THE  KINGDOM  0F  NApAL^       315 

ai?e  always  interred;  and  when  the  war  was  endcd^  I 
myfelf  went  to  fee  the  monuments  upon  the  hills* 

I  believe  that  the  kingdom  of  Nepal  is  very  ancient, 
becaufe  it  has  always  prefcrved  its  peculiar  language 
and  independence ;  but  the  caufe  of  its  ruin  is  the 
diflention  which  fubfifts  among  tbe  three  kings. 
After  the  death  of  their  fovereign,  the  nobles  of  Lelit 
Pattan  nominated  for  their  king  Gainprejas^  a  man 
poffefled  of  the  greateft  influence  in  Nepal ;  althpugh 
Ibme  years  afterwards  they  removed  him  from  his 
government,  and  conferred  it  upon  the  king  of 
Bhafgan ;  but  he  alfo  a  fliort  time  afterwards  was  de- 
pofed  ;  and,  after  having  put  to  death  another  king 
who  fucoeeded  him,  they  made  an  offer  of  the  go- 
vernment to  PrifhwiTiarayatij  who  had  already  com- 
menced war.  Prlfhwinarayan  deputed  one  of  his 
brothers,  by  name  Delmerden  Sah^  to  govern  the  king* 
dom  of  Lelit  Pattan^  and  he  was  in  theaftual  govern- 
qient  of  it  when  I  arrived  at  Nepal \  but  the  nobles 
perceiving  that  Prifhwinarayan  Itill  continued  to  in- 
terrupt the  tranquillity  of  the  kingdom,  they  difclaim- 
ed  all  fiibjeftion  to  him,  and  acknowledged  for  their 
,fovereign  Delmerden  Sah^  who  continued  the  war 
againfl  his  brother  Prifhwinarayan :  but  fome  years 
Afterwards  they  even  depofed  Delmerden  Sah,  and 
cleded  in  his  room  a  poor  man  of  Lelh  Pattan,  who 
was  of  royal  origin. 


ler  kings  of  Nepaly   had  demanded  affiftance  from 
U^hwinarayan-j  but  feeing  that  Prifhwinarayan  was 


The  king  of  Bhatgan,  in  order  to  wage  war  with  the 
Oth( 
jPri/' 

pofleffing  himfelf  of  the  country,  he  was  obliged  to 
defifty  and  to  take  meafures  for  the  defence  of  fiis 
oviFH  poffeffiohs ;  fo  that  the  king  of  Gorc'ha^  although 
Jt^c  had  been  formerly  a  fubjeft  of  Gainprejas,  taking 
idvantage  of  the  diffcntions  which  prevailed  among 
|he  other  kings  of  Nepal^  attached  to  his  party  rnany 


3l6  AN    ACCOUNT   OF 

mountain-chiefs,  promifing  to  keep  them  in  pofleflioOy 
and  alfo  to  augment  their  authority  and  importance; 
and  if  any  of  them  were  guilty  of  a  breach  of  faith, 
he  feized  their  country  as  he  had  done  to  the  kings.of 
Marecajisy  although  his  relations. 

The  king  of  Gorc'ha  having  already  poflefled  him- 
felf  of  all  the  mountains  which  furround  the  plain  of 
Nepal,  began  to  defcend  into  the  flat  country^  imof 
gining  he  (hould  be  able  to  carry  on  his  operations 
with  the  fame  facility  and  fuccefs  as  had  attended  him 
on  the  hills ;  and,  having  drawn  up  his  army  before 
a  town,  containing  about  8000  boufes,  fituate  upon  a 
hill  called  Clrlipury  about  a  league's  diftance  from 
Cafhmandu^  employed  his  utmoll  endeavour?  to  get 
pofTeffion  of  it.  The  inhabitants  of  Cirtipur  receiving 
no  fupport  from  the  king  of  Lelit  Pal  tan,  to  whom 
they  were  fubjeft,  applied  for  affiftance  to  Gainprtjas^ 
who  immediately  marched  with  his  whole  army  to  their 
relief,  gave  battle  to  the  army  of  the  king  of  Gorc^ha^ 
and  obtained  a  complete  viftory.  A  brother  of  the 
king  of  Gore  ha  was  killed  on  the  field  of  battle  ;  and 
the  king  himfelf,  by  the  affiftance  of  good  bearers, 
narrowly  efcaped  with  his  life,  by  fleeing  into  the 
mountains.  After  the  action,  the  inhabitants  of  Cirii^ 
pur  demanded  Gainprejas  for  their  king,  and  the 
nobles  of  the  town  went  to  confer  with  him  on  this 
bufincls ;  but,  being  all  aflembled  in  the  fame  apart* 
mentwith  the  king,  they  were  all  furprifed  and  feized 
by  his  people.  After  the  feizure  of  thofe  perfons.  Gain* 
prejaSy  perhaps  to  revenge  himfelf  of  thofe  nobles,  for 
having  refufed  their  concurrence  to  his  nomination  aa 
king,  privately  caufed  fome  of  them  to  be  put  to 
death  ;  another,  by  mxti^  Danuvanta,  was  led  through 
J  lie  city  in  a  woman's  drefs,  along  with  feveral  others, 
clothed  in  a  ridiculous  and  whimfical  manner,  at  tht| 
rxpcncc  of  the  nobles  of  Lelit  Pattan.     They  wcU 


THB.KI)IOIX>M   OP    NEPAL.  317 

then  kept  ih  clofc  confinement  for  a  long  time.  At 
laft,  after  making  certain  promifes^  and  interefting 
all  the  principal  men  ot  the  country  in  their  behalf, 
Qainprejas  fet  them  at  liberty. 

The  king  of  Gorc'ha^  defpairing  of  his  ability  to 
get  poffeffion  of  the  plain  of  Nepal  hy  ftrength,  hoped 
to  effeft  his  piirpofe  by  caufing  a  famine,  and  with 
this  defign,  ftationed  troops  at  all  the  pafles  of  the 
mountains  to  prevent  any  intercourfe  with  iVi?/>^/;  and 
his  orders  were  moft  rigoroufly  obeyed,  for  every  per- 
fbn  who  was  found  in  the  road,  with  only  a  little  fait  or 
cotton  about  him,  was  hung  upon  a  tree;  and  he 
caufcd  all  the  inhabitants  of  a  neighbouring  village 
to  be  put  to  death  in  a  moft  cruel  manner  (even  the 
women  and  children  did  not  efcape)  for  having  fup- 
plied  a  little  cotton  to  the  inhabitants  of  Nepal;  and, 
wh^n  I  arrived  in  that  country  at  the  beginning  of 
1769,  it  was  a  moft  horrid  fpeftacle  to  behold  (o 
many  people  hanging  on  the  trees. in  the  road.  How- 
ever, the  king  of  Gorc^ha  being  alfo  difappointed  in 
his  expeftations  of  gaining  his  end  by  this,projed:, 
fomented  diflentions  amoqg  the  nobles  of  the  three 
kingdoms  of  Nepalj  and  attached  to.feis  party  many 
xrf"  the  principal  ones,  by  holding  forth  to  them  liberal 
and  enticing  promifes ;  for  which  purpofe  he  had  about 
1000  Brahmens  in  his  fervice.  When  he  thought  he 
bad  acqijired  a  party  fufficiently  ftrong,  he  advanced  a 
fecond  tinie  with  his  army  to  Ciriipur^  and  laid  fiege 
to  it  on  the  nonh-weft.  quarter,  that  he  might  avoid 
cxpofing  his  army  between  the  two  cities  of  Cafhmandu 
and  Leltt  Pattan.  After  a  (iege  of  feveral  months, 
the.  king  of  Gort^ha  demanded  the  regency  of  the 
town  of  Cirtipury  when  the  commandant  of  the  town, 
fisconded  by  the  approbation  of  the  inhabitants,  dif- 
patchedto  him  by  an  arrow  a  very  impertinent  and  ex- 
afperating  anfwer,  Tlie  king  of  Gorclm  was  fo  much 
♦niaged  at  thi?  mode  of  proceeding,  that  he  gave  im- 


3l8  AN    ACCOUNt  OF 

mediate  orders  to  all  his  troops  to  ilortn  the  town  on 
cvcrj'  fide  :  but  the  inhabitants  bravely  defended  it,  lb 
that  all  the  efforts  of  liis  men  availed  him  nothing; 
and^  when  hefaw  that  his  army  had  failed  of  gaining 
the  precipice,  and  that  his  brother,  named  Suruparatna^ 
had  fallen  wounded  by  an  arrow,  he  was  obliged  to 
raife  the  ficgc  a  fecond  lime,  and  to  retreat  with  his 
army  from  Clrtipnr.  The  bi other  of  the  king  was 
afterwards  cured  of  his  wound  by  our  father  Michael 
j4ngelo^  who  is  at  prefent  in  Bellia. 

After  the  aflion,  the  king  of  Gorc*ha  fcnt  his  armjr 
againft  the  king  of  La7nji   (one  of  the  twenty-four 
kings  who  reign  to  the  weftward  of  Hepat)  borderixi? 
upon  his  own  kingdom  of  Gorc'ha.     After  many  del- 
perate  engagements,  an  accommodation  took  place  with 
ihe  king  of  Lawji :  and  the   king  of  Gorc'ia  colledt- 
ing  all  his  forces,  fent  them  for  the  third  time  to  bc- 
fiege  Cirtipur ;  and  the  army  on  this  expedition  was 
commanded  by  his  brother  Suruparatna.     The  inha- 
bitants of    Cirt'tpnr  defended   themlelves  with  their 
ufual  bravery,  and,  after  a  fiege  of  feveral  months,  the 
three  kings  of  AV^^/Zaflcmbled  at  Cat^hmtwduXo  march 
a,  body  of  troops  to  the  relief  of  Cirtipiir.   One  day  m 
the  afternoon  they  attacked  fome  of  the  Tanas  of  the 
Gorc^hiuus^  but  did  not  fucceed  on  forcing  them,  bc-^ 
caufe  the  king  of  GorcHia^  party  had  been  reinforced 
by  many  of  the  nobility,  who,  to  ruin  Gamprejasj  were 
willing  to  facrifice  their  own  lives.     The  inhabitants 
of    Cirtipur    having  already    fuftained    fix    or  feven 
months  fiege,  a  noble  of  Le/U  Paitmiy  called  Danu^ 
vanta,  fled  to  the  Gorc^ha  party,  and  treacheroufly  in-^ 
rroduccd  their  army  into  the  town*     The*  inhabitants 
might  ft  ill  have  defended  themfcives,  having  many 
orh'jr  forrrcfxes  in    the   upper  parts  of  the  town  tq 
jetrcat  to  ;  but  the  people  at  Gorc'ha  having  pub- 
lifhed    a  general  amnefty,   the    inhabitants,    greatly 
c.U)<'^uft;.-d  by  the  fatigues  of  a  long  ficge,  fuCTendece^ 


THE    KINGDOM    OF    NEPAL.  3I9 

thcmfelves  prifoners  upon  the  faith  of  that  promife. 
In  the  mean  time  the  men  of  Gorc^ha  feizcd  all  the 
gates  and  fortrefle^  within  the  town ;  but  two  days 
afterwards  Prifhwinarayariy  who  was  at  'Navacuta  (a 
long  day's  journey  diftant)  iflued  an  order  to  Surupa^ 
ratna  his  brother,  to  put  to  death  all  the  principal  inha* 
bitants  of  the  town,  and  to  cut  off  the  nofes  and  lips 
of  every  one,  even  infants,  who  were  not  found 
in  the  arms  of  their  mothers ;  ordering  at  the  fame 
time  all  the  nofes  and  lips  which  had/been  cutoff, 
to  be  preferved,  that  he  might  afcertain  how  many 
fouls  there  were ;  and  to  change  the  name  of  the  towa 
into  Najkatapur^  which  fignifies  the  town  of  cut-nofes. 
The  order  was  carried  into  execution  with  every  mark  of 
horror  and  cruelty,  none  efcaping  but  thofe  who  could 
play  on  wind  inftruments ;  although  Father  Michael 
jingeloy  who,  without  knowing  that  fuch  an  inhuman 
fcene  was  then  exhibited,  had  gone  to  the  houfe  of 
Suruparatna ^eind  interceded  much  in  favour  of  the  poor 
inhabitants.  Many  of  them  put  an  end  to  their  lives 
indcfpair  ;  others  came  in  great  bodies  to  us,  in  fearch 
of  medicines ;  and  it  was  mod  fhocking  to  fee  fo  many 
living  people  with  their  teeph  and  nofes  refembling  the 
ikuUs  of  the  deceafed. 

After  the  capture  of  Cirtipufy  Prit'hwimraya?i  dif- 
patched  immediately  his  army  to  lay  fiegeto  the  great 
city  of  Lelit  Pattan.  The  Gorchians  furrounded 
half  the  city  to  the  weftward  with  their  Tanas  ;  and, 
my  houfe  being  fituated  near  the  gate  of  that  quarter, 
J'  was  obliged  to  retire  to  Cat'hmanduy  to  avoid  being 
cxpofed  to  the  fire  of  the  befiegers.  After  many  en- 
gagements between  the  inhal^itants  of  the  town  of  /i^- 
lit  Pattan  dXidi  the  men  of  Gorc^ha^  in  which  much 
blbod  was  fpilt  on  both  fides,  the  former  were  dif- 
pdfed  to  (urrender  themfelves,  from  the  fear  of  hav- 
ing their  nofes  cut  off,  like  thofe  at  Cirtipur^  and  alfo 
their  right  hands  :  a  barbarity  the  Gorc'hians  had  threa- 
tened them  >^itb,  unlcfs  they  would  fiirrender  within 


320  AN    ACCOUNT    OF 

fiye  days.  One  nighi  all  the  Gordhians  quitted  the 
fiegeof /»t7//  Pat  tan  to  purfue  the  EngViJh  army,  which, 
under  the  cummand  ot  Captain  Kinloch^  had  already 
taken  Siduli^  an  important  fort  at  the  foot  of  the  ^epaU 
hills,  which  border  upon  the  kingdom  of  Tirhut:  but 
Captain  Kinloch  not  being  able  to  penetrate  the  hills, 
cither  on  the  S'uhiU  quarter  or  by  the  pafs  at  Hereafur^ 
in  the  kingdom  of  Macv^anpur^  the  army  of  Gor^ha 
returned  to  AV^^/todireft  their  operations  againft  the 
city  of  CaChnanJu^  where  Galnprejas  was,  who  had" 
applied  for  fuccour  to  the  Englijh.  During  the  fiegc 
of  Cufhiiandu  the  Brahmens  of  Gorc^ha  came  almdH 
every  night  into  the  city,  to  engage  the  chiefs  of  the 
people  on  the  part  of  their  king  ;  and  the  more  cfTeftu- 
ally  to  impofe  upon  poor  Galnprejas^  many  of  the  prin- 
cipal Brahmef:s  went  to  his  houfe,  and  told  him  to  per- 
fevere  with  confidence,  that  the  chiefs  of  the  Gon^ha 
army  were  attached  to  his  caufe,  and  that  even  they 
themfelves  would  deliver  up  their  king  Prit*hwinarayan 
into  his  hands.  Having  by  thcfe  artifices  procured  an 
opportunity  of  detaching  from  his  party  all  his  princi- 
pal fubjefts,  tempting  them  with  liberal  promifes  ac- 
cording to  their  cuftom,  one  night  the  men  oi  Gorc*ha 
entered  the  city  ^vithout  oppofition,  and  the  wretched 
Galnprejas^  perceiving  he  was  betrayed,  had  fcarcc 
time  to  efcape  with  about  three  hundred  of  his  befl 
and  mofl  faithful  Hindujiam  troops  towards  Lellt  PaU 
tan  y  which  place  however  he  reached  the  fame  night. 

The  king  of  Gore  ha  having  made  himfelf  matter  (rf 
Cat'hmandu  in  the  year  17 68,  perfifted  in  the  attempt 
of  polieffing  himfelf  alfo  of  the  city  of  Lellt  Patiauy 
promiling  ail  the  nobles  that  he  would  fuffer.them  to 
rt-inain  in  the  pofTeffion  of  their  property,  that  he  would 
even  augment  it  j  and  becaufe  the  nobles  of  Lelit  Pat- 
fan  placed  noreliance  on  the  faith  of  his  promifes,  he fent 
his  domeftic  pried  to  make  this  protciftation.  That,  if  he 


THE    KINGDOM    OF    NEPAL,  32I 

failed  to  acquit-  himfelf  of  hispromife,  he  fhould  draw 
CLirfes  upon  himfelf  and  his  family  ev^n  to  the  fifth 
paft  and  fucceeding  generation  ;  fo  that  the.  unhappy 
GainprejaSy  and  the  king  of  Lelit  Pattan^  feeing  that 
the  nobility  were  difpofed  to  render  themfelves  fubjedt 
to  rhe  king  of  Gorc^ha^  withdrew  themfelves  with 
their  people  to  the  king  of  Bhatgan.  When  the  city 
o{  LeVit  Pattan  became  fubjeft  to  the  king  of  Gorc'ha^ 
he  continued  for  fome  time  to  treat  the  nobility  with 
great  attention,  and  propofed  to  appoint  a  viceroy  of 
the  city  from  among  them.  Two  or  three  months 
afterwards,  having  appointed  the  day  for  making  his 
formal  entrance  into  the  city  of  Lelit  Pattan^  he  made 
ufe  of  innumerable  ftratagems  to  get  into  his  pof» 
feffion  the  perfons  of  the  nobility ;  and  in  the  end  fuc- 
ceeded.  He  had  prevailed  upon  them  to  permit  their 
fens  to  remain  at  court  as  companions  of  his  fon ;  he 
had  difpatched  a  noble  of  each  houfe  to  Navacuij  ox 
New  Forty  pretending  that  the  apprehenfions  he  enter*- 
tained  of  them  had  prevented  his  making  a  public 
entrance  into  the  city;  and  the  remaining  nobles 
-were  feized  at  the  river  without  the  town,  where  they 
went  to  meet  him  agreeably  to  a  prior  cng^ertient. 
Afterwards  he  entered  the  city,  made  a  vifit  to  the 
temple  of  Baghero  adjoirfing  to  our  habitation,  and 
paffing  in  triumph  thro'  the  city  amidft  immenfe  num- 
bers of  foldiers  who  compofed  his  train,  entered  the 
royal  palace  which  had  been  prepared  for  his  recep- 
tion ;  in  the  mean  time  pj^rties  of  his  foldiers  broke 
open  the  houfes  of  the  nobility,  feized  all  their  effects, 
and  threw  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  into  the  utmoft 
confter nation.  After  having  caufed  all  the  nobles  who 
were  in  his  power  to  be  put  to  death,  or  rather  their 
bodies  to  be  mangled  in  a  horrid  manner^  he  depart- 
ed with  a  defign  of  befieging  Whatgan :  and  we  ob- 
tained permillion,  through  the  intercft  of  his  (on,  to 
retire  with  all  the  Chriftians  into  the  pofleffions  of  the 
Englijh. 


322  AN"  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  NEPA.L. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  year  1 769,  the  l^fng 
oi Gore* ha  acquired  pofleffion  of  the  city  of  B'hatgan 
by  the  fame  expedients  to  which  he  owed  his  former 
fucceires  ;  and  on  his  entrance  with  his  troops  into  the 
city,  Gainprejasj  feeing  he  had  no  rcfoiirce  left  to  favc 
himfelf,  ran  courageouily  with  his  attendants  towards 
the  king  of  Gorc^hdy  and,  at  a  fmall  diftance  from  his 
palanquin,  received  a  wound  in  his  foot,  which  a  few 
days  afterwards  occafioned  his  death.  The  king  of 
Lel'uPatlan  was  confined  in  irons  till  his  death ;  and  the 
king  of  IVhafgauj  being  very  far  advanced  in  years, 
obtained  leave  to  go  and  die  at  Benares.  A  (hort  time 
afterwards  the  mother  of  Gainprejas  alfo  procured  the 
fame  indulgence,  having  from  old  age  already  loft  her 
cye-fighi ;  but  before  her  departure  they  took  from  her 
a  necklace  of  jewels  (as  (he  herfelt  told  me)  when  flic 
arrived  at  Patna  with  the  widow  of  her  grandfon : 
and  I  could  not  refrain  from  tears,  when  I  beheld  the 
mifcry  and  difgrace  of  this  blind  and  unhappy  queen. 

The  king  o^Gorc^ha^  having  thus  in  the  fpace  of  four 
years  effeacd  the  conqueft  of  ^epal,  made  himfcif 
matter  alfo  of  the  country  of  the  Ciratas  to  the  eaft  of 
it,  and  of  other  kingdoms,  as  far  as  the  borders  of  Coch 
Bihar.  After  his  dcceafe,  his  eldeft  fon  Pratap  Sinh 
held  the  government  of  the  whole  countrj' ;  but  fcarcely 
two  years  after,  on  Pratap  Sinh^s  death,  a  younger 
brother,  by  name  Bahadar  Sjh^  who  refided  then  at 
/fd7/yV^  with  his  uncle  Z)df/;;/^r^/67/  Sahy  was  invited  to 
accept  of  the  government :  and  the  beginning  of  his 
government  was  marked  with  many  maffacres.  The 
royal  family  is  in  the  greateft  confufion,  becaufc  the 
qtieen  lays  claim  to  the  government  in  the  name  of  her 
ion,  whom  (lie  had  by  Pratap  Sinh ;  and  perhaps  the 
oath  violated  by  Prifhivinarayan  will  in  the  progrefs 
of  tinpic  have  its  efFeft.  Such  have  been  the  fucceffors 
of  the  kingdoms  of  NepaU  of  which  Prifhwinarayan 
had  thus  acquired  polieflion. 


0^  THE  Cure  of  PersoU^ 

MlTTEiSl  BY  SNAitES. 


BY   JOHN  WtLLiAMS,    E3CL 


i««HriMMai*HiMM. 


T^HE  following  ftatemeilt  of  fads^  relative  td  ttie 
cure  of  perfons  bitten  by  fhakes^  felcAed  from  a 
number  of  Cafes  which  have  come  within  my  owil 
knowledge,  require  no  prefatory  introdudion^  as  it 
points  out  the  means  of  obtaining  the  greateft  felf- 
gratification  the  Iniman  mind  is  capable  of  experieuc- 
ing,— That  of  the  prefervation  of  the  life  of  a  fellow-^ 
Creature,  and  fnatching  him  from  the  jaws  of  death; 
by  a  method  Which  every  perfon  is  capable  of  availing 
himfelf  of.  Eau  de  Luce,  I  learn  from  many  com- 
munications which  I  have  received  from  difFerents  parts 
of  the  country,  anfwers  as  well  as  the  pure  cauftic 
alkali  fpirit ;  and  though,  from  its  having  fome  e(^ 
fential  oils  in  its  compofition,  it  fcnay  not  be  fo  power- 
ful, yet;,  as  it  muft  be  given  with  water,  it  only 'requites  - 
to  increafe.  the  dofe  in  proportion  j  and,  fo  long  as 
It  retains  its  milky  white  colour,  it  is  fufficiently  effi- 
cacious. 

From  the  efFed  of  a  ligature  applied  betwe^  the 
part  bitten  and  the  heart,  it  is  evident  that  the  poifon 
difFufes  itfelf  over  the  body  by  the  returning  venous 
blood  J  deftroying  the  irritability,  and  rendering  the 
fyftem  paralytic.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  the  vo- 
latile cauftic  alkali,  in  refitting  the  difeafe  of  the  poi- 
fon, does  not  ad  fo  much  as  a  fpecific  in  deftroying 
its  quality,  as  by  counterading  the  efFed  on  the  fyftcm, 
by  simulating  the  fibres,  and  pteferving  that  irritability 
which  it  tends  to  defbroy. 

Vol.  U.  Y 


324  O^    THE    CURE    OP 

CASE    I. 

In  the  month  of  Augiijl  1780,  a  fervant  of  mine 
was  bitten  in  the  heel,  as  he  fuppofed,  by  a  fnake ;  and 
in  a  few  minutes  was  in  great  agony,  with  convuUions 
about  the  throat  and  jaws,  and  continual  grinding  of 
the  teeth.  Having  a  wifh  to  try  the  effeds  of  vohtile 
alkali  in  fuch  cafes,  I  gave  him  about  forty  drops  of 
Eau  de  Luce  in  water,  and  applied  fomc  of  it  to  the 
part  bitten.  The  dofe  was  repeated  every  eight  or  ten 
minutes,  till  a  fmall  phialfiil  was  expended:  it  was 
near  two  hours  before  it  could  be  faid  he  was  out  of 
danger.  A  numbnefs  and  pricking  fenfation  was  per- 
ceived extencfing  itfelf  up  to  the  knee,  where  a  ligature 
was  applied  fo  tight,  as  to  flop  the  returning  venous 
blood,  which  feemingly  checked  the  progrels  of  the 
deleterious  poifon.  The  foot  and  leg,  up  to  where 
the  ligature  was  made,  were  ftifF  and  painful  for  feveral 
days ;  and,  which  appeared  very  Angular,  were  co- 
vered with  a  branny  kale. 

The  above  was  the  firft  cafe  in  which  I  tried  the 
efFefts  of  the  volatile  alkali ;  and,  apprehending  that 
the  effential  oils  in  the  compofition  of  Eau  dc  Luce, 
though  made  of  the  ttrong  cauftic  volatile  fpirit,  would 
confiderably  diminifli  its  powers,  I  was  induced,  the 
next  opportunity  that  offered,  tony  the  efFefts  of  pure 
volatile  cauftic  alkali  fpirit,  and  accordingly  pre- 
pared fome  from  quicklime  and  the  fal  ammoniac  of 
this  country. 

CASE    IL 

In  July  1782,  a  woman  of  the  Brahmen  c^Sc^  who 
lived  in  the  neighbourhood  at  Chtmar^  was  bitten  bf 
a  Cohra  cte  Capello  between  the  thumb  and  fore-fingJT 
of  her  right  hand.  Prayers  and  fuperftitious  incanta«! 
tions  were  praftifed  by  the  BraJnnans  about  her,  till 
(he  became  fpeechlefs  and  convulfed,  with  locked 


EE.RSONS    BITTEN    BY    SNAKES.  J2^ 

jaws,  and  a  profufe  difcharge  of  faliva  running  froriib' 
her  mouth.  On  being  informed  of  the  accident,  I  im-^ 
mediately  fent  a  fervant  with  a  bottle  of  the  volatile 
cauflic  alkali  Spirit,  of  which  he  poured  about  a  t0a<^ 
Ipoonful,  mixed  with  water,  down  her  throat,  and- 
applied  fbme  of  it  to  the  part  bitten.  The  dofe  was  re-i^ 
peated  a  few  minutes  after,  when  (he  was  cvidentl/ 
better,  and  in  about  half  an  hour  was  perfedly  rc*^ 
covered. 

This  accident  happened  in  a  fmall  hut,  where  I  faw 
the  {nake,  which  was  a  middle-fized  Cobra  de  Ca^- 
pello.  The  Brahmens  would  not  allow  it  to  be  killed. 
In  the  above  cafe,  no  other  means  whatever  were  ufed 
for  the  recovery  of  the  patient  than  ard  here  recited, 

CASE    III. 

A  woman -fervant  in  the  family  of  a  gentleman  at 
Benares  J  was  bitten  in  the  foot  by  a  Cobra  de  CapeJlo, 
The  gentleman  immediately  applied  to  me  for  fome  of 
the  volatile  cauflic  alkali,  which  I  fortunately  had  by 
me.  I  gave  her  aboxit  fixty  drops  in  water,  and  alfo 
applied  (ome  of  it  to  the  .part  bitten.  In  abbut  feven 
xxr  eight  minutes  after,  (he  was  quite  recovered.  In 
the  above  cafe,  I  was  not  witnefs  to  the  deleterious  ef- 
feA  of  the  poifon  on  the  patient ;  but  (aw  the  fnake 
after  it  was  killed. 

CASE    IV. 

In  July  1784,  the  wife  of  a  fervant  of  mine  was 
bitten  by  a  Cobra  de  Capello  on  the  outfide  of  the 
little  toe  of  her  right  foot.  In  a  few  minutes  (be  be- 
came convulfed,  particularly  about  the  jaws  and 
throat,  with  a  continued  gna(hing  of  the  teeth.  She 
at  firft  complained  of  a  numbne(s  extending  from  the 

y  ^ 


3^6  ON    THE    CURE   OF 

wound  upwards  ;  but  no  ligature  was  applied  to  the 
limb.  About  fixty  drops  of  the  volatile  cauftic  fplrit 
were  given  to  her  in  water,  by  forcing  open  her  mouth, 
which  was  ftrongly  convulfcd :  in  ab3ut  leven  minutes 
the  dofe  was  repeated,  when  the  convulfions  left  her  j. 
and  in  three  more  (he  became  fenfible,  and  fp^ke  to 
thofe  who  attended  her.  A  ievv  drops  of  the  fpirit 
had  alfo  been  applied  to  the  wound.  The  fnake  was 
killed  and  brought  to  mc,  which  proved  to  be  a  Cb* 
bra  de  Ca^ello. 

CASE     V. 

As  it  is  generally  believed  that  the  venom  of  fnakes 
is  more  malignant  during  hot  dry  weather  than  at  any 
oiher  feafon,  the  following  cafe,  which  occurred  in  the 
month  of  July  1788,  when  the  weather  was  extremely 
hot,  no  rain,  excepting  a  flight  Ihower,  having  fallen 
for  many  months,  may  not  be  unworthy  of  notice:— 

A  fervant  belonging  to  an  officer  at  Juanpoovy  was 
bitten  by  a  fnakc  on  the  leg,  abopt  two  inches  above 
the  outer  ancle.  As  the  accident  happened  in  the 
evening,  he  could  not  fee  what  fpecies  of  fnake  it  was. 
He  immediately  tied  a  ligature  above  the  part  bitten; 
but  was  in  a  few  minuies  in  fuch  exquifite  torture  from 
pain,  which  extended  up  his  body  and  to  his  head, 
that  he  foon  became  dizzy  and  fenfelefs.  On  being  in- 
formed of  the  accident,  1  fent  my  fervant  with  a  phi^^l 
of  the  volatile  cauftic  alkali,  who  found  him,  when 
he  arrived,  quite  torpid,  with  the  faliva  running  out 
of  his  mouth,  and  his  jaws  fo  faft  locked,  as  to  ren- 
der it  neceflary  to  ufe  an  inftrument  to  open  them, 
and  adminifter  the  medicine.  About  forty  drops  of 
the  volatile  cauftic  fpirit  were  given  to  him  in  water, 
and  applied  to  the  wound  ;  and  the  fame  dofc  repeated 
a  few  minutes  after.  In  about  half  an  hour  he  was  per- 


PERSONS    BITTEN    BY    SNAKES.  327 

feftly  recovered.  On  examining  the  part  bitten,  I 
could  difcover  the  marksi  of  three  fangs ;  two  on  one 
fide,  and  one  on  the  other;  2nd,  from  the  diftance 
they  were  afunder,  I  fliould  judge  it  a  large  fnake. 
More  than  ten  minutes  did  not  appear  to  have  elapfed 
from  the  time  of  his  being  bitten  till  the  medicine 
*  was  adminiftered.  The  wounds  healed  immediately^ 
and  he  was  able  to  attend  to  his  duty  the  next  day. 
Though  the  fpecies  of  fnakj  was  not  afcertained,  yet 
1  judge,  from  the  flow  of  faliva  from  the  mouth,  con- 
vulfive  fpafms  of  the  jaws  and  throat,  as  well  as  from 
the  marks  of  three  fangs,  that  it  muft  have  been  a  Co" 
ira  de  Capello  ;  and,  though  I  have  met  with  five  and 
fix  fangs  of  different  fizes  in  fnakes  of  that  fpecies,  I 
never  obferved  the  marks  of  more  than  two  having 
been  applied  in  biting  in  any  other  cafe  which  came 
within  my  knowledge. 

CASE    VI. 

In  September  1  786,  a  fervant  belonging  to  Captain 

S ,  who  was  then  at  Benares,  was  bitten  in  the 

leg  by  a  large  Cobra  de  Capello.  He  faw  the  fnake 
coming  towards  him,  with  his  neck  fpread  out  in  a 
very  tremendous  manner,  and  endeavoured  to  avoid 
Jiim ;  but,  before  he  could  get  out  of  his  way,  the 
fnake  feized  him  by  the  leg,  and  fecured  his  hold  for 
fome  time,  as  if  he  had  not  been  able  to  extricate  liis 
teeth.  Application  was  immediately  made  to  his  maf- 
ter  for  a  remedy,  who  fent  to  confult  me ;  but,  before 
I  arrived ,  had  given  him  a  quantity  of  fweet  oil,  which 
he  drank.  So  ioon  as  I  faw  him,  I  direfted  the  ufua^ 
dofe  of  volatile  cauftic  alkali  to  be  giv^n,  which  for- 
tunately brought  away  the  oil  frorti  his  flomach,  or  it 
is  probable  that  the  flimulating  efFefl  of  the  volatile 
fpirit  would  have  been  fo  much  blunted  by  it,  as  to 
have  become  inefficacious :  a  fecond  dole  was  imme- 
diately adminiftered,   and  fome  time  after,  a  thirdj 

Y3 


528  ON    THE    CURE   OP 

The  man  recovered  in  the  courfe  of  a  few  hours.  As 
oil  is  frequently  adminiftered  as  a  remedy  in  the  bice 
of  fnakes,  I  chink  it  neceflary  co  caution  againft  che 
ufe  of  it  with  che  volacile  alkali,  as  it  bluncs  the  fti« 
mulating  quality  of  the  fpirit,  and  renders  it  ufelefs. 

Of  the  numerous  fpecies  of  fnakes  which  I  have 
met  with,  not  above  fix  were  provided  with  poifonous 
fangs ;  though  I  have  examined  many  which  have 
been  confidered  by  the  natives  as  dangerous,  without, 
being  able  tp  dikover  any  thing  noxious  in  them. 

The  following  is  an  inftance  of  the  deleterious  effeft 
of  the  bite  of  a  fnake,  called  by  the  natives  Krait^  a 
fpecies  of  the  Boa,  which  I  have  frequently  met  with 
in  chis  part  of  che  country  : — 

CASE     VII. 

On  the  i6rh  September  1788,  a  man  was  brought 
to  me  who  had  been  bitten  by  a  fnake,  with  the  marks 
of  two  fanrrs  on  cwo  of  his  ices ;  he  -vas  faid  to  have 
been  bitten  above  an  hour  before  1  faw  him  :  he  w^ 
perfedlly  fenfible,  but  complained  of  great  pain  in 
the  parts  bitten,  with  an  unuCual  languor.  I  imme- 
diately gave  him  thirty  drops  of  the  volatile  cauftic 
alkali  fpirit  in  water,  and  ai>plied  fome  of  it  to  the 
wounds.  In  a  few  minutes  he  became  eafier,  and  in 
about  half  an  hour  was.  carried  away  by  his  friends, 
with  perfeft  confidence  in  his  recovery,  without  hav- 
ing taken  a  fecond  dole  of  the  medicine,  which  indeed 
did  not  appear  to  have  been  neceflary  ^  but,  whether 
from  the  efFedt  of  the  bite  of  the  fnake,  or  the  motion 
of  the  dooly  on  which  he  was  carried,  1  know  not  \ 
but  he  became  fick  at  the  ftomach,  threw  up  the  me- 
dicine, and  died  in  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour  af- 
ter.    The  man  faid  that  the  fnake  came  up  to  him 


P-ERSOITS    BITTEN    BY    SNAKIES.  329 

while  he  was  fitting  on  the  ground  ;  and  that  he  put 
him  away  with  his  hand  once,  but  that  he  turned  about 
and  bit  him,  as  defcribed.  The  fnake  was  brought  to 
me,  which  I  examined  :  it  was  about  two  feet  and  a  half 
long,  of  a  lightifti  brown  colour  on  the  back,  a  white 
belly,  and  annulated  from  end  to  end  with  208  abdo- 
minal and  forty-fix  tail  fcuta.  I  have  met  with  fe- 
veral  of  them  from  thirteen  inches  to  near  three  feet 
in  length :  it  had  two  poifonous  fangs  in  the  upper 
jaw,  which  lay  naked,  with  their  points  without  the  up- 
per lip.  It  does  not  fpread  its  neck,  like  the  Cohra  de 
Ca^ello^  when  enraged ;  but  is  very  adtive  and  quick 
in  Its  motion, 

I  have  feen  inftances  of  perfons  bitten  by  fnakes, 
who  have  been  fo  long  without  afiiftance,  that,  when 
they  have  been  brought  to  me,  they  have  not  been  able 
to  fwallow,  from  convulfions  of  the  throat  and  fauces  j 
which  is,  I  obferve,  a  conftant  fymptom  of  the  bite 
of  the  Coira  de  Capello  :  and  indeed  I  have  had  many 
perfons  l^iought  to  me  who  had  been  dead  fome 
time  ;  but  never  knew  an  inftance  of  the  volatile  cauf- 
tic  alkali  failing  in  its  effedt,  where  the  patient  has 
been  able  to  fwallow  it. 


Y4 


# 


..■^ 


XIX. 


ON   SOME    ROMAN    COINS 
FOUND  AT  NELORE. 


TO  THE  PRESIDZNT  OF  THE  ASTATIC.  SOCIETY. 

S1R9 

I  HAVE  the  honour  to  prcfent  you  with  an  cx- 
tra6t  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Alexander  Davidfon^  late 
Governor  of  Madras^  giving  an  account  of  fome 
Roman  Coins  and  Medals  lately  found  near  pJehre^  to- 
gether with  a  drawing  of  them,  copied  from  one  tranf- 
mitted  by  Mr.  Davidfon  \  which,  I  imagine,  may  be 
acceptable  to  the  Afiattc  Society. 

I  have  the  honour  to  be^ 

Sir, 
Your  mofl  obedient  humble  (ervant, 

S.   DAVIS. 

Calcutta^  Mai ch  20,  1788. 


Extras  of  a  Letter  from  Alexander  Davidfon^  E/q* 
Dated  Madras^  July  12,  1787. 

A  PEASANT  near  'Nelore^  about  100  miles  north- 
weft  of  Madras^  was  ploughing  on  the  fide  of  a  ftony 
craggy  hill :  his  plough  was  obftrufted  by  fome 
brick-work :  he  dug,  and  difcovered  the  remains  of 
a  fmall  Hhidu  temple,  under  which  a  little  pot  was 
found  with  Roman  coins  and  medals  of  the  fecond 
century. 

He  fold  them  as  old  gold ;  and  many  no  doubt 
were  melted,  but  the  Nawab  Amlrul  JJmara  reco- 
vered upwards  of  thirty  of  them.  This  happened 
while  I  was  governor;  and  I  had  the  choice  of  two 
out  of  the  whole.     I  chofe  an  Adrian  and  Faiiftina. 

Some  of  the  Trajans  were  in  good  prefervation. 
Many  of  the  coins  could  not  have  been  in  circulation : 
they  were  all  of  the  pureft  gold,  and  many  of  them 
as  frelh  and  beautiful  as  if  they  had  come  from  the 
mint  but  yefterday.  Some  were  much  defaced  and 
perforated,  and  had  probably  been  worn  as  orna- 
ments on  the  arm,  and  others  pending  from  the  neck. 

I  fend  you  drawings  of  my  two  coins,  and  have 
no  objedVion  to  your  publifliing  an  account  of  them 
in  the  Tranfadions  of  the  Afiatic  Society.  I  received 
my  information  refpefting  them  from  the  young 
Nawah;  and  if  my  name  be  neccflary  to  authenticate 
the  fafts  I  have  related,  you  have  my  pcrmiffion  to 
ufe  it. 


-f 


'       XX 
ON  TWO  HINDU  FESTIVALS, 

AND  THE 

INDIAN  SPHINX. 


BY  THE  LATE  COLONEL  PEARSE,  MAY  is,  1785, 


I  BEG  leave  to  point  out  to  the  Society,  that 
the  Sunday  before  laft  was  the  feftival  of  Bha- 
*vamy  which  is  annually  celebrated  by  the  Gopas^ 
and  all  other  Hindus  who  keep  horned  cattle  for 
ufe  or  profit.  On  this  feaft  they  vifit  gardens,  ered  a 
pole  in  the  fields,  and  adorn  it  with  pendants  and 
garlands.  The  Sunday  before  laft  was  our  jirjl  of 
Mayy  on  which  the  fame  rites  are  performed  by  the 
fame  clafs  of  people  in  England ^  yfhtXQ  it  is  well 
known  to  be  a  relique  of  ancient  fuperftition  in  that 
countrj^ :  it  (hould  fcem,  therefore,  that  the  religion 
of  the  eaft  and  the  old  religion  of  Britain  had  a  ftrong 
affinity.  Bhavani  has  another  feftival  j  but  that  is  not 
kept  by  any  one  fet  of  Hindus  in  particular,  and  this 
is  appropriated  to  one  clafs  of  people.  This  is  con- 
llantly  held  on  the  ninth  of  Baifac*h ;  which  does  not 
always  fall  on  our  jfirft  of  May^  as  it  did  this  year. 
Thofe  members  of  the  Society  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  rules  which  regulate  the  feftivals,  may  be 
able  to  give  better  information  concerning  this  point. 
I  only  mean  to  point  out  the  refemblance  of  the  rites 
performed  here  and  in  England^  but  muft  leave  abler 
hands  to  inveftigate  the  matter  further,  if  it  (hould 
be  thought  deferving  of  the  trouble.  I  find  that  the 
feftival  which  I  have  mentioned^  is  one  of  the  moft 
ancient  among  the  Hiudus^ 


334  ^N    TWO    HINDU     FESTIVALS, 

II.  During  the  Huli^  when  mirth  and  feftivitjr 
reign  among  H'uidiis  of  every  clafs,  one  fubjedt  of 
diverfion  is  to  fend  people  on  errands  and  expeditions 
that  are  to  end  in  difappointmetit,  and  raifc  a  laugh 
at  the  ex  pence  of  the  pcrfon  fent.  The  Huh  is  al- 
ways in  Slarchj  and  the  laft  day  is  the  greateft  holi- 
day. All  the  HlnJris  who  are  on  that  day  at  Jaggan^ 
naChy  arc  entitled  to  certain  diftindions,  which  they 
hold  to  be  of  fuch  importance,  that  I  found  it  expe- 
dient to  flay  there  till  the  end  of  the  feftival  \  and  I 
am  of  opinion,  and  fo  are  the  reft  of  the  officers,  that 
)  faved  above  five  hundred  men  by  the  delay.  The 
origin  of  the  //«/;  fecms  loft  in  antiquity;  and  I 
have  not  been  able  to  pick  up  the  fmallefl  account 
of  it. 

If  the  rites  of  May-day  (liow  any  affinity  between 
the  religion  of  England  in  times  paft  and  that  of  the 
Hindus  in  thefe  rimes,  may  not  the  cuftom  of  making 
Aprlhfoolsy  on  the  firft  of  that  month,  indicate  fome 
traces  of  the  Hull  ?  I  have  never  yet  heard  any  ac- 
count of  the  origin  of  the  EngTifn  cuftom ;  but  it  \% 
iinqueftionably  very  ancient,  and  is  ftill  kept  up  even 
in  great  towns,  though  lefs  in  them  than  in  the  coun- 
try. With  us  it  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  Ipwer  claflcs 
of  people;  hut  in  India  high  and  low  join  in  it;  and  the 
late  Shnjatd  DaulahyX^xn,  told,  was  very  fond  of  makin| 
JJull  fools,  though  he  was  a  Mufelman  of  the  highel 
rank.  They  carry  it  here  fo  far.  as  to  fend  letters 
making  appointments,  in  the  names  of  perfons.  who, 
it  is  known,  muft  be  abfent  from  their  houfe  at  the 
time  fixed  on  ;  and  the  laugh  is  always  in  proportion 
to  the  trouble  given. 

III.  At  Jagawiafh  I  found  the  Sphinx  of  the  Egypr 
tians ;  and  prefent  the  Society  with  a  drawing  of  it. 
Murari  Pandit^  who  was  deputy  Fatijdar  of  Balafofj^ 
acicndcd  my  detachment  on  ;he  part  of  the  Mahratias% 


AND    THE    INDIAN    SPHINX.  33J 

He  is  now  the  principal\fl/w/V/^r,  and  is  much  of  the 
gentleman :  a  man  of  learning,  and  very  intelligent. 
From  him  I  learned  that  the  Sphinx^  here  called  Singh^ 
is  to  appear  at  the  end  of  the  world,  and,  as  foon  as 
he  is  born,  will  prey  on  an  elephant.  He  is,  therefore, 
figured  feizing  an  elephant  in  his  claws ;  and  the  ele- 
phant is  made  fmall,  to  (how  that  the  Singh^  even  a 
moment  after  his  birth,  will  be  very  large  in  propor- 
tion to  it. 

When  I  told  Murari  that  the  Egyptians  worQiipped 
the  bull,  and  chofe  the  God  by  a  black  mark  on  his 
tongue,  and  that  they  adored  birds  and  trees,  he  imme- 
diately exclaimed,  "  their  religion  then  was  the  fame 
^*  with  ours ;  for  we  alfo  chufe  o\^xfacred  bulls  by  the 
^^  fame  marks y  we  reverence  the  hatifa^  the garura,  and 
**  other  birds;  we  refpeft  the  pippal  and  the  vafa 
**  among  trees,  and  the  tula^  atnong  (hrubs;  but  as 
**  for  onions  (whichil  had  mentioned)  they  are  eaten 
**  by  low  men ;  and  are  fitter  to  be  eaten  than  wor- 
^'  diipped/' 

REMARK    BY    THE    PRESIDENT. 

Without  prefuming  to  queftion  the  authority  of 
Murari  Pandit^  I  can  only  fay,  that  feveral  Brahmam 
now  in  Bengal^  •  have  feen  the  figure  at  Jagannafh^ 
where  one  of  the  gates  is  called  Sinhadwar ;  and  they 
affure  me,  that  they  always  confidered  it  as  a  mere  re- 
prefentation  of  a  Lion  feizing  a  young  elephant ;  nor 
do  they  know,  they  fay,  any  fenfe  for  the  word  Sinha 
but  a  Lion  J  fuch  as  Mr.  Ilajlings  kept  near  his  gar- 
den. The  Huli^  csMcd  Uolaca  in  the  Fedas^  and 
P'hahutfava  in  common  Sanfcrii  books,  is  the  fefti- 
▼al  of  the  vernal  feafon,  or  Nauruz  of  thi  Per/tans. 


XXL 

A  SHORT  DESCRIPTION  OF  CJRNICOBAR^ 

BY  MR.  G.  HAMILTON. 


COMMUNICATED   BY   MR.  ZOFFANY. 


*TrHE  ifland,  of  which  I  propofe  to  give  a  fuccin6t 
account,  is  the  northernmoft  of  that  clufter  in  the 
Bay  oi  Bengal,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  the  ISicohars. 
It  is  low,  of  a  round  figure,  about  forty  miles  in  cir- 
cumference, and  appears  at  a  diftance  as  if  entirely  co- 
vered with  trees  :  however,  there  are  feveral  well 
cleared  and  delightful  fpots  upon  it.  The  foil  is  a 
black  kind  of  clay,  and  marlhy.  It  produces  in  great 
abundance,  and  with  little  care,  moft  of  the  tropical 
fruits,  fuch  as  pine-apples,  plantains,  papayas,  cocoa- 
nuts,  and  areca-nuts ;  alfo  excellent  yams,  and  a  root 
called  cachu.  The  only  four-footed  animals  upon  the 
ifland  are  hogs,  dogs,  large  rats,  and  an  animal  of  the 
lizard  kind,  but  large,  called  by  the  natives  toloTiqui-^ 
thefe  frequently  carry  off  fowls  and  chickens.  The 
only  kind  of  poultry  are  hens,  and  thofe  not  in  great 
plenty.  There  are  abundance  of  fnakes,  of  many 
different  kinds;  and  the  inhabitants  frequently  die  of 
their  bites*  Theflmber  upon  the  ifland  is  of  many 
forts,  in  great  plenty,  and  fome  of  it  remarkably  large, 
affording  excellent  materials  for  building  or  repairing 
fliips. 

The  natives  are  low  in  ftature,  but  very  well  made, 
arid  furprizingly  aftive  and  flrongj.they  are  copper? 
coloured,  and  their  features  have  a  caft  of  the  Malay ; 
quite  -the  reverfe  of  elegant.  The  women,  in  par- 
ticular,  are  extremely  ugly.  The  men  cut  their  hair 
fhott,  and  the  women  have  their  heads  fliaved  quite 
bare,  and  wear  no  covering  but  a  (hort  petticoat,  made 
of  a  fort  of  rufli  or  dry  grafs,  which  reaches  half-way 
down  the  thigh.  This  grafs  is  not  interwoven,  but 
hangs  round  the  perfon  fomething  like  the  thatching 
of  a  houfe.     Such  of  them  as  have  received  prefents 


338  A  SHORT  DESdRIPTlOlt 

of  cloth- petticoats  from  the  (hips,  commonly  tie  them 
rpund  immediately  under  the  arms.  The  men  wear 
nothing  but  a  narrow  drip  of  cloth  about  the  middle, 
in  which  they  wrap  up  their  privities  fo  tight,  that 
there  hardly  is  any  appearance  of  them.  The  ears  of 
both  fexes  are  pierced  when  young,  and  by  fquees* 
ing  into  the  holes  large  plugs  of  wood,  or  hanging 
heavy  weights  of  fliells,  they  contrive  to  render  them 
wide  and  difagreeable  to  look  at.  They  are  naturally 
difpofed  to  be  good  humoured  and  gay,  and  arc 
very  fond  of  fitting  at  table  with  Europeans^  where 
they  eat  every  thing  that  is  fet  before  them ;  and  ihcy 
cat  mod  enormoufly.  They  do  not  care  much  for 
wine,  but  will  drink  bumpers  of  arrack  as  long  ss  they 
can  fee.  A  great  part  of  their  time  is  fpent  in  fcaft* 
ing  and  dancing.  When  a  feaft  is  held  at  any  vil* 
lage,  every  one  that  chufes  goes  uninvited,  for  they 
are  utter  ftrangers  to  ceremony.  At  thofe  feafts  they 
tat  immenfe  quantities  of  pork,  which  is  their  favour- 
ite fooil.  Their  hogs  are  remarkably  fat,  being  fed 
upon  the  cocoa-nut  kernel  and  fea-waier :  indeed  all 
their  domeftic  animals,  fowls,  dogs,  &c.  are  fed  upon 
the  fame.  They  have  likewife  plenty  of  (mall  fea-fifii, 
which  they  ftrike  very  dexteroufly  \iiih  lances,  wading 
into  the  fea  about  knee-deep.  They  are  fure  of  kill- 
ing a  very  fmall  fi(h  at  ten  or  twelve  yards  diftancc. 
They  eat  the  pork  almoft  raw,  giving  it  only  a  hafty 
grill  over  a  quick  fire.  They  r.^aft  a  fowl,  by  run- 
ning a  piece  of  wood  through  it,  by  way  ot  fpit,  and 
holding  it  over  a  brifk  fire,  until  the  feathers  are 
burnt  otT,  when  it  is  ready  for  eating,  in  their  tafte. 
They  never  drink  water;  only  cocoa-nut  milk  and 
a  licjuor  called /ozira^  which  oozes  from  the  cocoa-nut 
tree  after  cutting  off  the  young  fprouts  or  flowers. 
This  ihey  llifier  to  ferment  before  it  is  ufcd,  and 
then  it  is  intoxicating,  to  which  quality  they  add 
much  by  their  method  of  drinking  it,  by  fucking 
it  flowly  through  a  fmall  ftraw.     After  eating,  the 


OF    CARNICOBAP.  .  339 

young  men  and  women,  who  are  fancifully  dreft  with 
leaves,  go  to  dancing,  and  the  old  peopVe  furround  them 
fmoking  tobacco  and  drinking  foura.  The  dancers, 
while  performing,  fing  fome  of  their  tunes,  which  are 
far  from  wanting  harmony,  and  to  which  they  keep 
exadl  time.  Of  mufical  inftruments  they  have  only 
one  kind,  and  that  the  fimplell.  It  is  a  hollow  bam- 
boo about  zi  feet  long  and  three  inches  in  diameter; 
along  the  outfide  of  which  there  is  (Irefched  from  end 
CO  end  a  fingle  firing  made  of  the  threads  of  a  fplrt 
cane ;  and  the  place  under  the  firing  is  hollowed  a 
litde,  to  prevent  it  from  touching.  .  This.inftrument 
is  played  upon  in  the  fame  manner  as. a  guitar.  *It  is 
capable  of  producing  but  few  notes ;  the  performer 
however  makes  it  fpeak  harmonioufly,  and  generally 
accompanies  it  with  the  voice. 

What  they  know,  of  phyfic  is  fmall  and  fimple.  I 
!iad  once  occafion  to  fee  an  operation  in  furgery  per- 
formed on  the  toe  of  a  young  girl,  who^had  bden  flung 
by  a  fcorpion  or  centipee.  The  wound  was  attended 
with  a   confiderable  fwelling,  and  the  .little  patient 

Teamed  in  great  pain.  One  of  the  natives  produced 
the.  under  jaw  of^  fmall  fifh,  which  was  long,  and 

-planted  with  two  rows  of  teeth  as  (harp  as  needles : 
taking  this  in  one  hand,  and  a  fmall  flick  by  way  of 

.hammer  in  the  other,  he  flruck  ihc  teeth  three  or  four 
times  into  the  fwelling,  and  made  it  bleed  freely  :  the 
toe  was  then  bound  up  with  certain  leaves^  .and  next 
day  the  child  was  running  about  perfedly  .well. 

■■■.'■ 
Their  houfes  are  generally  built  upon:the  beach,  in 

villages  of  fifteen  or  twenty  houfes  each ;  and  each 
houfc  contains  a  family  of  tvMenry  perfo.ns.and  upwards. 
Thefe  habitations  are  raifed  upon  wooden  pillars,  about 
ten  feet  from  the  ground;  they  are  round,  and,  hav- 
ing no  windows,  look  like  bee-hives,  covered  with 
Vol,  II.  Z 


340  A    SHORT    DESCRIPTION 

fhatcli.  The  entry  is  through  a  trap-door  bclovr, 
where  the  family  mount  bf)'  a  ladder^  which  is  drawn 
up  at  night.  This  manner  of  building  is  intended 
to  fecure  the  houfes  from  being  infcfted  with  fnakes 
and  rats ;  and  for  that  purpofe  the  pillars  are  bound 
round  with  a  finooth  kind  of  leaf,  which  prevents 
animals  from  being  able  to  mount ;  befides  which, 
each  pillar  has  a  broad  round  flat  piece  of  wood  near 
the  top  of  it,  the  projcdling  of  which  efTedtually 
prevents  the  further  progrefs  of  fuch  vermin  as  may 
have  paflTcd  the  leaf.  The  flooring  is  made  with  thin 
llrips  of  bamboos,  laid  at  fuch  dillances  from  one 
another  as  to  leave  free  admiifion  for  light  and  air; 
and  the  infide  is  neatly  iiniflied  and  decorated  with 
fifliing- lances,  nets,  &c. 

The  art  of  making  cloth  of  anj  kind  is  quite  un- 
known to  the  inhabitants  of  this  ifland  ^  what  they 
have  is  got  from  the  fliips  that  come  to  trade  in  cocoa- 
nuts.  In  exchange  for  their  nuts  (which  are  reckoned 
the  finell  in  this  part  of  India)  they  will  accept  of  but 
few  articles  ;  what  ihcy  chiefly  vvilh  for  i^  cloth  of  dif- 
ferent colours,  hatchets  and  hanger-blades,  which  they 
ule  in  cutting  down  the  nuts.  Tobacco  and  arrack  they 
are  very  fond  of ;  but  expect  tlvcfe  in  prefents.  They 
have  no  money  of  their  own,  nor  will  they  allow  any 
value  to  the  coin  of  other  countries,  further  than  as 
they  happen  to  fancy  them  for  ornaments  ;  the  young 
women  fometimes  hanging  ftrings  of  dollars  about 
their  necks.  However,  they  are  good  judges  of  gold 
and  filver ;  and  it  is  no  eafy  matter  to  impofe  bafer 
metals  upon  them  as  fuch. 

They  purchafe  a  much  larger  quantity  of  cloth 
than  is  con  fumed  upon  their  own  ifland.  This  is 
intended  for  the  Choiiry  market.  Choury  is  a  fmall 
ifland  to  the  fouthward  of  theirs,  to  which  a  large 
fleet  of  their  boats  fails  every  year  about  the  month 
of  Noveinher^  to  exchange  cloth  for  canoes  \  for  tbc;r 


OF    GARNIGOBAR.  34I 

cannot  make  thefe  themfelves.  This  voyage  they 
pel  form  by  the  help  of  the  fun  and  ftars,  for  they 
know  nothing  of  the  Coriipafs* 

In  their  difpofition  there  are  two  remarkable  quali- 
ties. One  is  their  entire  negledt  of  compliment  and 
ceremony  ;  and  the  other,  their  ayerfion  to  dilhonefty. 
A  Carnicoharlan  travelling  to  a  diftant  village  upon 
bufinefs  or  amufement,  paffes  through  many  town^ 
in  his  way  without  perhaps  fpeaking  to  any  one.  If 
he  is  hungry  or  tired,  he  goes  up  into  the  neareft  hdufe, 
and  helps  himfelf  to^what  he  wants,  and  fits  till  he 
is  refted,  without  taking  the  fmalleft  tioticc  of  any  of 
the  family,  unlefs  he  has  bufinefs  or  news  to  commu- 
nicate. Theft  or  robbery  is  fo  very  rare  ambngfb 
them,  that  a  man  going  out  of  his  houfe,  neVer 
takes  away  his  ladder,  or  (huts  his  door,  btit  leaves 
it  open  for  any  body  to  enter  that  pleafes,  without 
the  leaft  apprehenfion  of  having  any  thing  ftolen  from 
him. 

Their  intefcourfe  with  ftrangers  is  fo  frequent,  that 
they  have  acquired  in  general  the  barbarous  language 
of  the  Portuguefe,  fo  common  over  India  ;  their  own 
tongue  has  a  found  quite  different  from  moft  others, 
their  words  being  pronounced  with  a  kind  of  ftdp, 
or  catch  in  the  throat,  at  every  fyllable.  The  few  fol- 
lowirig  words  will  lerve  to  (hew  thofc  who  afe  ac- 
.  quainted  with  other  Indian  languages,  whether  there 
is  any  fimilitude  between  them,' 


A  mafi. 

Kegonla. 

To  eat. 

G/iia^ 

A  woman, 

Kecanna» 

To  drink. 

Okk. 

A  child. 

Chu. 

Yams, 

'1  ''owla^ 

To  laugh, 

uiyehur. 

To  weep, 

Poing. 

A  canoe, 

A^f. 

A  pine*apple 
Zz 

,  Frung^ 

34i  A    bHORT    DESCRIPTION 

A  houfc,  Albamim.  To  deep,  Loo^n  horn. 

A  fowl,     Hayiwi.  A  dog,      'Pamam. 

A  hog,     IIowTu  Fire,         T^amia. 

Fifli,         A'i/.  Rain,        Koomra. 

They  have  no  notion  of  a  God ;  but  they  believe 
firmly  in  the  Devil,  and  worfliip  him  from  fear.  In 
every  village  there  is  a  high  pole  eredted  with  long 
llrings  of  ground- rattans  hanging  from  it,  which,  it 
is  faid,  has  the  virtue  to  keep  him  at  a  diftance. 
When  they  fee  any  figns  of  an  approaching  (lorm,  they 
imagine  that  the  Devil  intends  them  a  vifit ;  upon  which 
many  fuperftitious  ceremonies  are  performed.  The 
people  of  every  village  march  round  their  own  boun- 
daries, and  fix  up  at  different  diflances  fmall  .dicks 
fplit  at  the  top,  into  which  fplit  they  put  a  piece  of 
cocoa-nut,  a  wifp  of  tobacco,  and  the  leaf  of  a  cer- 
tain plant.  Whctlicr  this  is  meant  as  a  peace-ofTering 
to  the  De\il,  or  a  fcarccrow  to  frighten  him  away, 
^loes  not  appear. 

V/hen  a  man  dies,  all  his  live  flock,  cloth,  hatchets, 
ii(hing-lanccs,  and  in  Ihort  every  moveable  thing  he 
polieli'ed  is  buried  with  him;  and  his  death  is  mourned 
by  the  whole  village.  In  one  view,  this  is  an  excellent 
cullom,  feeing  ic  prevents  all  difput^s  about  the  pro- 
perty of  the  deccafcd  amongft  his  relations.  His 
wife  mud  conforin  tocuftom,  by  having  a  joint  cutoff 
from  one  ol'  her  ungcrs ;  and,  if  Ihe  refufes  this,  fhc 
muft  fubniit  (o  have  a  deep  notch  cut  in  one  of  the 
pillars  of  her  houle. 

« 

J  Vv-as  once  prcicnt  at  the  funeral  of  an  old  womaiit 
VV  hen  we  went  inio  the  houie,  which  had  belonged  to 
ilie  dccealcd,  we  found  it  full  of  her  female  relations; 
fome  of  them  v/ere  employed  in  wrapping  up  the 


OF'  CARNSCOBtAR,^  343 

corpfe  XH  leaves  and  cloth,  and  others  teiiring  to  piccw 
all  the  elcth  which  had.  belonged  to  her.  In  another 
houfe  hard  by,  the  naen  of  the  village,  with  a  great  many 
others  from  the  neighbouring  towns,  were  fitting  drink- 
ing foiira  and  rmoking  tobacco.  In  the  mean  titno 
two  flout  young  fellows  were  bufy  digging  a  grave  in 
the  fend  near  the  houfe.  When  the  worpea  had  done 
with  the  corpfe,  they  fet  up  a  moft  hideous  howl,  upoa 
which  the  people  began  to  aflemhle  round  the  grave, 
and  four  men  went  up  into  the  houf?  to  bring  down 
the  body ;  in  doing  this  they  were  niqch  interrupted 
by  a  young  man,  fon  to  the  deceafed,who  endeavoured 
with  all  his  might  to  prevent  them,  bu(  finding  it  in 
vain,  he  clung  round  the  body,  and  w^s  carried  to  the 
grave  along  with  it :  there,  after  a  violent  ibuggle^ 
he  was  turned  away,  and  conduced  bs^ck  to  the  houfe. 
The  corpfe  now  put  into  the  grave,  and  the  lafhings 
which  bound  the  legs  aqd  arms  cut,  all  the  live  ftock 
which  had  beep  the  property  of  the  deceafed,  confift* 
ing  pf  about  half  a  dqzen  hogs  and  as  many  fowls, 
was  killed,  and  flung  in  above  it.  A  man  then  ap- 
proached with  a  bunch  of  leaves  duck  upon  the  end 
of  a  pple,  which  he  fwept  two  or  three  times  gently 
along  the  corpfe,  ^nd  then  the  grave  was  filled  up. 
During  the  ceremony,  the  wqmen  continued  to  make 
the  mod  horrible  vocal  concert  imaginable:  the  men 
(aid  nothing.  A  few  days  afterwards,  a  kind  of  mor 
nument  was  ereded  over  the  grave,  with  a  pole  upon 
it,  to  which  long  flrips  of  cloth  of  different  colours 
were.  hung. 

Polygamy  is  not  known  among  them ;  and  their  pu- 
nifhmcnt  of  adultery  is  not  lefs  fevere  than  efTeftual. 
They  cut,  from  the  man's  offending  member  a  piece 
of  the  forefkin,  proportioned  to  the  frequent  commif- 
fion  or  enormity  of  the  crime. 

There  feems  to  fubCft  among  them  a  perfect  equa- 
lity.    A  few  perfons,  from  their  age,  have  a  little 

Z3 


344     A    SHORT    DESCRIPTIOK    OF    C ARKICOnAR. 

more  refped  paid  to  them  ;  but  there  is  no  appearance 
of  authority  one  over  another.  Their  focieiy  feems 
bound  rather  by  mutual  obligations  continually  con* 
ferred  and  received :  the  fimpleU  and  beft  of  all 
ties. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Andamans  are  laid  to  be 
Cannibals.  The  people  of  Carnicobar  have  a  tradition 
among  them,  that  feveral  canoes  came  from  Andaman 
many  years  ago,  and  that  the  crews  were  all  armed, 
and  committed  great  depredations,  and  killed  feveral 
of  the  Nicobarians.  It  appears  at  firft  remarkable^ 
that  there  fliould  be  fuch  a  wide  difference  between 
the  manners  of  the  inhabitants  of  iilands  fb  near  to 
one  another ;  the  Andamans  being  favage  Cannihah^ 
and  the  others,  the  mofl  harmlefs  inoffenfive  people 
poflible.  But  it  is  accounted  for  by  the  following 
biftorical  anecdote,  which,  I  have  been  aiTured,  is 
matter  of  fad.  Shortly  after  the  Portugue/e  had  dif- 
covered  the  paflage  to  India  round  the  Ca^e  of  Good 
Hope^  pne  of  their  (hips  on  board  of  which  were  a 
number  of  Mozambique  negroes,  was  loft  on  the  And^ 
anian  iflands,  which  were  till  then  uninhabited.  The 
blacks  remained  on  the  idand,  and  fettled  there  :  the 
jBwroj^^tf «j  made  a  fmall  (hallop,  in  which  they  failed  to 
Pegu.  On  the  other  hand,  the  Nicobar  iflands  were 
peopled  from  the  oppofite  main  and  the  coaft  of  Pegu ; 
in  proof  of  which,  the  JSli f  obar  vind  Pegu  languages  arc 
faid,  by  thofe  acquainted  with  the  latter,  to  have 
much  rcfemblance* 


XXII. 


tv 


THE  DESIGN  OF  A  TRE4T1SE  ON  THE 

PLANTS  OF  INDU. 


BY    THE    PRESIDENt. 


"•■^P"* 


THE  greateft,  if  not  the  only,  obfta^e  to  thef>ix>- 
grefs  of  knowledge  in  thefe  provinces,  except 
in  thofe  branches  of  it  which  belong  imtnediately  to 
our  feveral  profeflions,  is  the  want  of  leifure  for  gene-, 
ral  refearches ;  and,  as  Archimedes ^  who  was  happily 
mafler  of  his  time,  had  not  j^^^^  enough  to  move 
the  greateft  weight  with  the  fmalleft  force,  dius  we, 
who  have  ample  fpace  for  our  inquiries,  really  want 
time  for  the  purfuit  ot  them.  *^  Give  me  a  place  to 
^*  Hand  on,  faid  the  great  mathematician,  and  1  will 
^^  move  the  whole  earth  :**  Give  us  times  v/c  may  (^ky^ 
for  our  inveftigationsy  and  we  will  tramfer  to  Europe 
all  thefciencesy  artSy  and  literature  of  Alia.  **  Not 
to  have  defpaired,"  however,  was  thought  a  d^ee, 
of  merit  in  the  Roman  General,  even  though  he  waft 
defeated  s  and  having  fome  hope  that  others  may 
occaiionally  find  more  leifure  than  it  will  ever,  at 
lead  in  this  country,  be  my  lot  to  enjoy,  I  take  the 
liberty  to  propofe  a  work,  from  which  very  curious 
information,  and  poflibly  very  folid  advantage,  may 
be  derived. 

Some  hundreds  of  plants,  which  are  yet  imperfeftly 
known  to  European  botanifts,  and  with  the  virtues  of 
which  they  are  wholly  unacquainted,  grow  wild  on 
the  plains  and  in  the  forefts  of  India.  The  Amarcofh^ 
Kn  excellent  vocabulary  of  the  Sanfcrit  language,  con- 
tains in  one  chapter  the  names  of  about  three  hun* 
4red  medicinal  vegetables;  the  Medini  ms^y  com- 

Z4 


346  THE    DKSIGK    OF    A    TREATISE 

prize  many  more  ;  and  tlie  Dravyahidayta^  or  i)/V- 
tionary  of  JSiitmal  ProJuLiions^  includes,  I  believe,  a 
far  greate'r  number ;  the  properties  of  which  are  dif- 
tindly  related  in  H^edical  tracts  of  approved  authority. 
Now  the  firfl  ftcp,  in  compiling  a  trcutifc  on  the  plants 
of  Lid'ui^  fliould  be  to  write  their  true  names  in  Ro- 
man letters,  according  to  the  motl  accurate  orthogra* 
phy,  and  in  Sattfcr'u^  preferably  to  any  vulgar  dialed ; 
becaufe  a  learned  language  is  fixed  in  books,  while 
popular  idioms  are  in  conftant  fluftuation,  and  will  not 
perhaps,  be  underflood  a  century  hence  by  the  inha- 
bitants of  thcfe  ludian  territories,  whom  future  bota- 
rrfts  may  copfuit  on  the  common  appellations  of  trcci 
and  flowers.  Thechildifli  denominations  of  plants  froin 
the  perfons  who  firll  defcribed  them,  ought  wholly 
to  be  rejected ;  for  Champaca  and  Hmna  (eem  to  me 
pot  only  more  elegant,  but  far  properer  defignations 
of  an  Ifulian  and  an  Arabian  plant,  than  MlcheJia  and 
Lawfoma  ;  nor  can  I  fee!  without  pain,  that  the  great 
Sivedi/k  botanift  confidcred  it  as  ihe  fupreme  and  mdi 
tevodrd of  lahour  in  this  part  of  natural  hiftory,  to  pre- 
ferve  a  name  by  hanging  it  on  a  blofibm,  and  that  he 
ckckredthis  mode  of  pr.)moLing  and  adorning  botany, 
worthy  of  being  continunl  vcith  holy  reverence ^  though 
fb  high  an  honour,  he  fays,  ought  to  he  confefred  voitb 
chajte  referve^  mid  not  froji'itiited  for  the  pnrpofe  of 
conciliating  the  gcrd-zvi//,  or  eternizing  the  memory^ 
of  any  lut  his  chfcn  foUcwers  ;  no^  Jiot  e^cen  of  faints* 
His  lift  of  an  haulred  and  fifty  fuch  names,  clearly 
fliows  that  Ills  excellent  works  are  the  true  bafis  of  his 
juft  celebrity,  which  wouki  liavc  been  feebly  fiipported 
by  the  ftaik  of  Lnma'a.  I-roni  what  proper  name 
the  Plauiain  is  called  IMuf:^  1  do  not  know;  but  it 
frcms  to  be  the  Dutch  pronunciation  of  the  jlra* 
hie  word  for  that  vcgetabic,  srd  ought  not,  therefore, 
to  have  appeared  in  his  lift  ;  though,  in  my  opinion,  it 
is  the  only  raiional  name  in  the  mufler-roll.  As  to  the 
lyftcm  ot  Lh.r.irus^  it  is  the  iVAtm  of  Nature,  fubor- 
dmare  inuce.l  to  ihc  beautiful  lirrangement  of  natural 


ON    THEv  PLANTS   O?    INDIA.  34; 

orders y  of  which  he  hath  given  a  rough  iketch,  and 
which  may  hQreafter,  perhaps,  be  complete :  but  the 
diftribution  of  vegetables  into  clajfes^  according  to  the 
number,  length,  and  portion  ot  the  ftamens  and  pif- 
tils,  and  of  thofe  cla/Jes  into  kinds  and  /pedes j  ac- 
cording to  certain  marks  of  difcrimiiiation,  will 
ever  be  found  the  cleareft  and'moft  convenient  of  me- 
thods, and  fhould  therefore  be  ftiidioufly  obferved 
in  the  work  which  1  now  fuggeft ;  but  I  muft  be 
forgiven,  if  I  propofe  to  rejeA  the  Linnaan  appella- 
tions of  the  twenty-four  clajfes,  becaule,  although 
they  appear  to  be  Greek  (and,  if  they  really  were  fo, 
that  alone  might  be  thought  a  fufficient  objeAion)  yet 
in  truth  the}  are  not  Greeks  nor  even  formed  by  ana- 
logy to  the'^language  of  Grecians  j  for  FAygamos^  Mo- 
/undros,  and  the  reft  of  that  form,  are  both  mafculine 
and  feminine ;  Polyandra^  in  the  abftraft,  never  oc- 
curs, and  Polyarulrion  means  a  public  cemetery  ; 
diacia  and  hideous  are  not  found  in  books  of  authority ; 
nor,  if  they  were,  would  they  be  derived  from  dis^  but 
from  dia^  which  would  include  the  tri^ecia ;  let  me  add 
that  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  claffes  are  ill  diftin«-^ 
guilhed  by  their  appellations,  independently  of  other 
exceptions  to  them,  fince  the  real  diftinftion  between 
them  confifts  not  fo  much  in  the  nu?nher  of  their  fta- 
mens, as  ir;  the  place  where  they  are  inferted ;  and 
that  the  fourteenth  and  fifteenth  are  not  more  accu- 
rately difcriminated  by  two  words  formed  in  defiance 
of  gramaiatical  analogy,  fince  there  are  but  tzvo  pow- 
ers, or  two  diverftties  of  length  in  each  erf  thofe  claflTes. 
Calycopolyandros  might,  perhaps,  not  inaccurately  de- 
note a  flower  of  tlie  twelfth  clafs  \  but  fuch  a  com- 
pound would  ft  ill  favour  of  barbarifm  or  pedantry  ; 
and  the  beft  way  to  amend  fuch  a  fyftem  of  words  is 
to  efface  it,  and  fupply  its  place  by  a  more  fimplc 
nomenclator,  which  may  eafily  be  found  Numerals 
may  be  ufed  for  the  eleven  fir  ft  clafles,  the  former  of 
two  numbeti^being  always  appropriated  to  the  .fiamens^ 
and  the  latter  to  the  pijlik.     Short  phrafes,  as  on  the^ 


348  THE    DrSIGN    OF    A    TREATISE 

t'a/yx  or  ciilice^  in  the  receptacle j  two  long ^  four  Itmg  from 
one  ki/ej  f^f'^i  two  or  mafiy  bafesy  with  anthers  con^ 
fiecledy  fjnlhc pijlih^  iniwo flowers y  in  two difttnS plants ^ 
wixrdy  concealed^  or  the  like,  will  aniWer  every  pur* 
pofe  of  dircrimination ;  but  I  do  not  offer  this  as  a 
pcrfc'fl  lubftltiite  for  the  words,  which  I  condemn* 
The  allegory  of  fexes  and  nuptials^  even  if  it  were 
compleic,  ought,  I  think,  to  be  difcarded,  as  unbe- 
coming the  gravity  of  men,  who,  while  they  fearcb 
for  truth,  can  have  no  biifinefs  to  inflame  their  ima- 
ginations ;  and,  while  they  profel's  to  give  defcrip- 
lions,  have  nothing  to  do  with  metaphors.  Few  pat 
(ages  mAloifta^  the  moft  impudent  book  ^ercompofed 
by  man,  arc  more  wantonly  indecent  than  the  hundred- 
forty-iixth  number  of  the  Botanical  Vhilofophy^  and 
the  broad  comment  of  its  grave  author,-  who  dareSj 
like  Octavius  in  his  epigram,  to  fpeak  with  Roman 
Jimplicity  ;  nor  can  the  Limuean  defcription  of  the 
Anim,  and  many  other  plants,  be  read  in  EngUflt 
\vithout  exciting  ideas  which  the  occafion  does  not  re- 
quire. Hence  it  is  that  no  well-born  and  well-edu- 
cated woman  can  be  advifcd  to  amufe  herfelf  with 
botany  as  it  is  now  explained,  though  a  more  elegant 
and  delightful  ftndy,  or  one  more  likely  to  aflift  and 
embellifh  other  female  accomplilhments,  could  not 
poffibly  be  recommended. 

When  the  Sanfcrit  names  of  the  Indian  plants  have 
been  correftly  written  in  a  large  paper-book,  one  page 
being  appropriated  to  each,  the  frclh  plants  them- 
felves,  procured  in  their  refpeftive  feafons,  muft  be 
concifely,  but  accurately,  clajfed  ^nd  dcfcribed  y  after 
which  their  feveral  iifes  in  medicine,  diet,  or  manu- 
faftures,  may  be  collected  with  the  afliftance  of  Hindu 
phyficians,  from  the  medical  books  in  Sarifcrity  and 
t!>eir  accounts  either  difapproved  or  eftablilhed  by  re-i 
pf;.ated  experiments,  as  izfx  as  they  can  be  made  with 


ON    THE    PLANTS    OF    INDIA,  349 

By  way  of  example,  I  annex  the  defcriptions  of  five 
Indian  plants ;  but  am  unable,  at  this  feafon,  to  re- 
examine them,  and  wholly  defpair  of  leifure  to  exhibit 
others,  of  which  1  have  coUefted  the  names,  and  mod: 
of  which  I  hjive  feen  in  bloflbm. 

I.  MUCHUCUNDA. 
Twenty,  from  One  Bafe. 

CaJ.     Five-parted,  thick ;  leafleats  obWng. 

Cor^     Five  petals,  oblong. 

Stam.  From  twelve  to  fifteen,  rather  long,  fertile  ; 
five  Ihorter,  fterile.  In  fome  flowers,  the  unproJific 
ftamens  longer. 

Pijir  5/)'/^  cylindric- 

Peric.     A  capfule,  with  five  celU,  many-fceded. 

Seeds.     Roundifh,  comprefled,  wingedi. 

Leaves.     Of  many  different  fliapes. 

Vfes,     The  quality  refrigerant. 

One  flower,  fleeped  a  whole  night  in  a  glafs  of  wa« 
ter,  forms  a  cooling  mucilage,  of  ufe  in  virulent  g^. 
norrhoeas.  The  Muchucunda^  called  alfo  Pichuca^  is 
exquifitely  fragrant :  its  calyx  is  covered  with  ah 
odoriferous  duft  ;  and  the  dried  flowers  in  fine  pow- 
der, taken  as  fnufT,  are  faid,  in  a  Sanjcrit  book,  al- 
mod  inflantaneoufly  to  remove  a  nervous  head-ach. 

Note.  This  plant  differs  a  little  from  the  Penta^ 
fetes  of  Linmeus. 

II.  BILVA,  OR  MALURA. 
Many  on  the  Receptacle,  and  One. 

Cain,    Four  or  five  cleft  beneath. 


350  THE    DLSIGN    0¥    A    TREATISE 

Cor.     Four  or  five  petals ;  moftly  reflex. 

iSla?n.  Forty  to  fony- eight  filaments  j  anthcri 
xnoflly  ercdl. 

Pi/l.  Germ,  roundifli ;  S/yle  finooth,  fliort ;  Silgnuk 
clubbed* 

Peric.  A  fpheroidal  berry,  very  large;  many- 
feeded. 

Seeds.  Toward  the  furfacc  ovate,  in  a  pellucid 
mucus. 

Leaves.  Ternatc;  common  petiole  long;  leaflets 
fi]bovate  ;  obtufely  notched  with  Ihort  petioles ;  fomc 
almofl  lanced. 

Stem.     Armed  with  (harp  thorns, 

Vfes.  The  fruit  nutritious,  warm,  cathartic;  in 
tafte  delicious,  in  fi'agrance  exquifite  :  its  aperient 
and  deterfive  quaHty,  and  its  efficacy  in  removing  ha- 
bitual cofl.ivenefs,  having  been  proved  by  conflant 
experience.  The  mucus  of  the  feed  is,  for  fomq 
purpofes,  a  very  good  cement. 

^ofe.  This  fruit  is  called  Srifhala^  becaufe  it 
fprang,  fay  the  Indian  poets,  from  the  milk  of  Sri^ 
theGoddefsof  Abundance,  who  beftowed  it  on  man- 
kind at  the  rcqucft  of  Ifivara^  whence  he  alone  wears 
a  chaplet  of  li'ilvd  flowers  :  to-  him  only  the  Hindus 
offer  them  ;  and,  when  they  fee  any  of  them  fallen 
on  the  ground,  they  take  them  up  with  reverence, 
and  carry  them  to  his  temple.  From  the  firft  bloflfom 
of  this  plant,  that  I  could  infpcd,  I  had  imagined 
tluit  it  belonged  to  the  fame  clafs  with  the  Durio,  be- 
caufe the  tilamcxirs  appeared  to  be  diftributed  in  five 
feis  ;  but  in  all  that  1  have  fince  examiricd,  they  are 
pcrfcdly  dillincl. 

III.     SRINGATACA. 
Four  and  One. 

(^aL     Four  cleft,  with  a  long  peduncle  above, 
Cor.     Four  petals.  ' 


.    ON  THE   PLANTSOF    II^DIA.  ^^l 

Stam.     Anthers  kidney-ftiaped. 

Pijt.  Germ  roundifti  j  Style  long,  as  the  filaments^ 
Stigma  clubbed. 

Seed.  A  Nut  with  four  oppofite  angles  (two  of  them 
fliarf  thorns)  formed  by  the  Calyx. 

Leaves.  Thofe  which  float  on  the  water  are 
rhomboidal ;  the  two  upper  fides  unequally  notched, 
the  two  lower,  right  lines.  Their  petioles  buo^lbd 
up  by  fpindle-fhaped  fpongy  fubftances,  notblatf- 
'ders. 

Root.     Knotty,  like  coral. 

Ufes.  The  frefli  kernel,  in  fweetnefs  and  delicacy:, 
equals  that  of  the  filbert.  A  mucus,  fecreted  by  mi- 
nute glands,  covers  the  wet  leaves,  which  are  confi- 
dered  as  cooling. 

Note,     itfeemsto  be  the  floating  Tr&pa  oi  Lk^ 

IV.     PUTICARAJA. 

Ten  and  Ope.  : 

-     k 

Cal.^    Five-cleft.  . 

Cor.     Five  equal  petals.,  t 

Peric.     A  thorny  legumen ;  two  feeds. 

Leaves.    Oval,  pinnated. 

Stem.     Armed. 

Ufes.  The  l^eds  are  very  bitter,  and,  perhaps,  ta- 
nic ;  fince  one  of  them,  braifed  and  given  in  two 
dofes,  will,  as  the  Hindus  aflert,  cure  an  intermittent 
fever. 

V.     MADHUCA.     (See  Fol.  L  pa^e  300.J  ■ 
Many,. 7^0/  on  the  Receptacle,  and  One. 

CaL    Perianth  four  or  fivc-leavec}. 


5^2        TREATISE  OK  THE  PLANTS  OP  IKDIA. 

Cot\  Onc-pctaled.  Tube  inflatedi  flefhy.  Bor* 
der  nine,  or  ten,  parted. 

Stam.  Anthers  from  iwclve  to  twenty-eight,  creft, 
acute,  fubvillous. 

Piji.     Germ  roundiil);  Sl\le  long,  awl-(haped. 

Peric.     A  Drupe ^  with  two  or  three  Nuis? 

Leaves.     Oval,  fomcwhat  pointed. 

IJfcs.  The  tubes  elculent^  nutritious;  yielding^ 
by  diftillation,  an  inebriating  fpirit,  which,  if  the 
falc  of  it  were  duly  rettrained  by  law,  might  be  applied 
to  good  purpofes.  A  ulctul  oil  is  expreffcd  from  the 
ieed. 

Hote.     It  refcmblcs  the  Biijia  of  the  Koenig. 

Such  would  be  the  method  of  the  work  which  X 
recommend  ;  but  even  the  ipecimen  which  I  exhibit, 
might,  in  fkilt^l  hands,  have  been  more  accurate. 
Engravings  of  the  planes  may  be  annexed  ;  but  I  have 
more  than  once  experienced ,  that  the  belt  anatomical 
and  botanical  prints  give  a  very  inadequate,  and  fome* 
times  a  very  falfc  notion  of  the  objects  which  they 
were  intended  to  reprefent.  As  we  learn  a  new  lan- 
guage by  reading  approved  compofitions  in  it  with 
the  aid  of  a  Cinimmar  and  Didtionary,  fo  we  can 
only  lliidv  wi:h  eftect  the  natural  hiftory  of  vegetables 
bv  ana!yi;rg  tie  plants  themfclves  with  the  Phihfo' 
fh'ui  h'jtuni< tf ,  which  is  the  Grammar^  and  the  Genera 
it  St^i'ies  Pid7itaru?ny  which  may  be  confidered  as  the 
DiCf:c>uzr\'  of  that  beautiful  language,  in  which  Na- 
ture would  teach  us  what  plants  we  mud  avoid  as  nox- 
ious, and  wh.it  we  muft  cultivate  as  falutarj^;  for  tliat 
the  quali:its  of  p!:-.nts  are  ;»;  jlme  liegree  connected 
with  tiK"  f:.:r:(*i:i  ^yJ:'rs  vl.TiA  ilij^cs  o\  them,  a  nunw 
be:  or .'...  .n.' .  '^undantly  prove. 


XXIII. 
ON  THE  DISSECTION  OF  THE  PANGOLIN, 

In  a  Letter  to  General  Camac 
ff'om  Adam  Burt,  E/q. 


COMMUNICATED    BY    THE    GENERAL. 


Sir, 

IN  compliance  with  your  defire,  I  moft  willingly 
do  myfeif  the  honour  to  prefem  to  you  my  obfer- 
vations  and  refledions  on  the  diffeftion  of  one  of  thofe 
animals,  of  which  we  have  a  print,  with  a  very  (hort 
account,  in  the  Ffrfi  Volume^  of  the  Tranfadions  of 
the  Aftatic  Society.  The  animal,  froni  which  that 
likenefs  has  been  taken,  was  Tent  by  Mr.  Lejlie^  front 
Chitray  to  the  Prefident  Sir  JVilUam  Jones.  It  is  dif- 
tinguiftied  in  the  Tranfa£lions  by  a  name,  which  I  do' 
not  at  prefent  remember ;  but  probably  the  animal 
is  of  the  fame  genus  with  the  Munis,  as  defcribed  t||^ 
the  former  edition  of  the  Encyclopedia  Britannica^  oy 
perhaps,  not  different  from  the  Pangolin  of  Buffon. 

The  feprefentation  of  this  animal  in  the  Meinoirs 
of  the  Aftatic  Society,  makes  it  unneceflary  for  me  to 
enter  into  any  general  defcription  of  its  external  figure 
and  appearance.  There  are  on  each  foot  five  claws,  of 
which  the  outer  and  inner  are  fmall  when  compared 
with  the  other  three.  There  are  no  diflinft  toes ;  but 
each  nail  is  moveable  by  a  joint  at  its  root.  This 
creature  is  extremely  inoffenfive  :  it  has  no  teeth;  and 
its  feet  are  unable  to  grafp.  Hence  it  would  appear 
that  Nature,  having  furniftied  it  with  a  coat  of  mail 
for  its  protection,  has,  with  fome  regard  to  juftice,  df- 
nied  it  the  powers   of  atting  with  boftility  againll 


354  ^^    "'^^^    DISSECTIOlJ 

its  fellow-crcaturcs.  The  nails  are  well  adapted 
for  digging  in  the  ground  ;  and  the  animal  is  fo  dex- 
terous in  eluding  its  enemies,  by  concealing  itfelf  in 
holes  and  among  rocks,  that  it  is  extremely  difficult 
lo  procure  one. 

The  upper  jaw  is  covered  with  a  crofs  cartilaginous 
ridge*  which  though  apparently  not  at  all  fuited  to  any. 
purpofes  of  mafticaiion,  may,  by  increafing  the  fur- 
face  of  the  palate,  cxitnd  the  fcnle  of  tafte.  Theoefo- 
phagus  admitted  my  lore-  fin2;cr  with  eafc.  The  tongue 
at  the  bottom  of  the  ni-.nith  is  neiuly  about  the  fizc 
of  the  little  finger,  from  wIilmkc  it  tapers  to  a  point. 
The  animal  at  pleafurc  rr«>rM:dc3  this  member  a  great 
way  from  the  mouth.  I'hc  tongue  arifes  from  the 
cnfiform  cnrtilagc,  and  il;e  contiguous  inufcles  of  the 
belly,  and  paiiesi-in  form  ot  a  round  diftinA  mufcie- 
from  over  the  Itomacli,  ihroujih  the  thorax,  immedi- 
ately under  the  ftcrnuin  ;  and  interior  to  the  wind- 
pipe in  the  throat.  \V  hi  n  diflcCtcd  out,  the  tongoc 
could  be  eafily  elongated  io  a3  to  rcii.Ii  more  than  the 
length  of  the  animu!,  excluilvc  of  its  tail.  There  is 
a  clufter  of  falivary  glands  i'eatcd  around  the  tonguCi 
as  it  enters  the  moutli.  Thclc  will  ncceflarily  be 
comprefTed  by  the  action  of  the  tongue,  fo  as  occa- 
fionally  to  lui-nlv  :l  rlcutihil  How  of  their  lecretion. 

The  ftoiiiach  i:^  i'i:*://:/r[/i!or/s^  and  analogous  to  thtt 
of  the  gallinaceous  tribe  of  birds.  It  w'as  filled  with 
fmall  lloiicc  and  gravel,  which  in  this  part  of  the 
counrr;,  ivrc  .limciL  \inivcrfaii y  calcareous.  The  in- 
ner fjrfacc  oi  vhe  lioniach  was  rough  to  the  feel,  and 
formtd  into  toUls,  the  ii-terftices  of  which  WCK 
filled  wiih  a  froth.y  lecretion.  The  guts  were  filled 
with  a  iandy  pulp,  in  \\hlch,  however,  were  interfperfcd 
a  few  uiilifivft  hnall  ftones.  No  veftiges  of  any  ani- 
mal or  ve^'table  food  could  be  traced  in  the  whole 
frj/hc  vuc.     The  gall- bladder  was  diftended  with  # 


OF    THE    PANGOLIN*  355 

fluid,  refembling  ia  colour  and  confidence  the  dregs 
of  beer. 

The  fubjcft  was  a  female:  its  dugs  were  two; 
feated  on  the  bread.  The  uterus  and  organs  of  ge- 
neration were  evidently  thofe  of  a  viviparous  animal. 

Forcibly  ftrnck  with  the  phenomena  which  this 
quadruped  exhibited,  my  imagination  at  once  over- 
leaped the  boundaries  by  which  fcience  endeavours 
to  circumfcribe  the  produftions  and  the  ways  of 
Nature;  and  believing  \v\x\\  Buffon^  que  tout  ce  qui 
pent  etre  efl,  I  did  not  hefitate  to  conjecture  that  this 
animal  might  poffibly  derive  its  nourifhment  from^ 
mineral  fubftances  This  idea  I  accordingly  hazarded 
in  anaddrefsto  Colonel  Kyd.  The  fpiritof  inquiry, 
natural  to  that  gentleman,  could  be  ill  fatisfied  by 
ideas  thrown  out  apparently  at  random  ;  and  he  foon 
called  on  me  to  explain  my  opinion,  and  its  founilation. 

Though  we  have   perhaps  no  clear  idea  of  the 
manner  in  which  vegetables  extraft  their  nourilh- 
ment  from  earth,  yet  the  fadt  being  fo,  it  may  not 
be  unreafonable  to  fuppofe  that  fome  animal  may ' 
dei'tve  nutriment  by  a  procefs  fomewhat  fimilar.     It  « 
appears  to  me,  that/faifts  produced  by  Spallanzani  di^ 
rcftly  invalidate  the  experiment?,  from  which  he  has 
drawn  the  inference,  that  fowls  fwallow  ftones  merely 
from  ftupidity ;  and  that  fuch  fubftances  are  alto- 
;ether  unneceflary    to  thofe  animals.      He    reared 
Fowls,  without  permitting  them  ever  to  fwallow  fand 
or  ftones;  but  he  alfo  eftabliftied  the  fadt,  that  car- 
nivorous animals  may  become  frugivofous ;  and  herbi- 
vorous animals  may  come  to  live  on  flefti.     A  wood- 
pidgeon  he  brought  to  thrive  on  putrid  meat.     Thg 
experiment  on  fowls,  then,  only  corroborates  the  proof, 
that  we  have  it  in  our  power  by  habits  to  alter  the  na- 
tural, conftitution  of  animals.   Again,  the  eminent  in- 
veftigator  of  truth  found,  thai  fowls  died  when  fed 
Vol*  IL  A  a 


5156  OS     THE    DlSblvCUON 

on  Hones  alohc ;  but  furcly  that  fad  is  far  (hort  of 
proving  that  fuch  fubdances  are  not  agreeable  to  the 
original  purpofes  of  nature  in  the  digcllive  procefsof 
thefe  animals.  When  other  fubdances  fliall  have 
been  detefted  in  the  (lomach  of  this  animal,  my  in- 
ference, from  what  I  have  fecn,  muft  neccflarily  fall 
to  the  ground.  But  if,  like  other  animals  with  muf- 
cular  and  cartilaginous  flomachs,  this  lingular  qua- 
druped confumes  grain,  it  muft  be  furprifing  that  no 
veftigc  of  fuch  food  was  found  prefent  in  the  whole 
alimentary  canal,  iincc  in  that  thinly  inhabited  coun- 
try, the  wild  animals  are  free  to  feed  without  intrufion 
from  man  :  nor  can  it  be  inferred  from  the  llru£kui€ 
of  the  ftomach,  that  this  animal  liyes  on  ants  or  on! 
infeds.  Animals  devoured  as  food,  though  of  con- . 
liderable  iize  and  iolidity,  with  a  proportionably  fmall 
extent  of  furface  to  be  afted  on  by  the  gaftric  juice 
and  the  adlion  of  the  ftomach^  are  readily  diffolved 
iihd  digefled  by  animals  polleiling  not  a  cartilaginous, 
but  a  membranaceous  ftomach ;  as  for  inftance,  a  frog 
in  that  of  a  fnake. 

ill  the  ftomach  many  minerals  are  foluble,  and  the 
moft  aftive  things  which  we  can  fwallow.     Calcareous  • 
fubftances   are  readily  afted  on.     Dr.  Priefiley  has. 
afked,  "May  not  phlogiftic  matter  be  the  moft  et. 
*^  fential  part  of  the  food  and  fupport  of  both  vcgc- 
'^  table     and    animal    bodies?"       I     confefs,    that 
Dr.  PriejHcf%  finding  caufe  to  propofe  the  queftion, 
inclines  me  to  fuppofe  that  the  affirmative  to  it  may 
be  true.     Earth  feems  to  be  the  bafis  of  all  animal 
matter.     The  growth  of  the  bones  muft  be  attended 
with  a  conftant  fupply ;  and  in   the  human  fpecies 
there  is  a   copious  difcharge  of  calcareous   matter 
thrown    out   by   the    kidneys    and  falivary  glands. 
May  not  the  quadruped  in  queftion  derive  phlogifton   . 
trom  earth  ?  fait,  from  mineral  fubftances  ?    And,  as 
it  is  not  deprived  of  the  power  of  drinking  water,. 


what  elfe  is  neceflary  to  the  fubfillerice  of  his  cdp- 
poreal  machinq. 

r 
I 

Confideririg  the  fcaly  covering  of  this  animal,  w6  " 
may  conceive  that  it  may  be  at  lead  necfeffiry  for 
its  exiftence^  on  that  account^  tb  imbibe  a  greater 
proportion  of  earth  than  is  neceflary  to  other  animals^ 
It  may  deferve  confiderationj  that  birds  aire  covered 
with  feathers,  which  in  their  conftituent  principles  ap* 
preach  to  the  nature  of  horn  a^nd  ,bone.  Of  thef^ 
iinimals  the  gaUinaceous  tribe  fwallow  ftones }  and 
the  carnivorous  take  in  the  feathers  and  bon^s  of  their 
jprey  :  the  latter  article  ii  known  to  be  foliible  in  the 
membranaceous  ftomacljs ;  and  hence  is  a  copious 
Tupply  of  the  earthy  principles.  .  In  truth;  I  do  not 
know  that  any  thing  is  folubl8  iii  the  ftorhach  bf  ani- 
mals^ which  niay  not  be  thence  abfoirbed  into  their 
^circulating  fyftem  ;  and,  nothing  can  be  fo  abforbed 
without  affeding  the  whole  tonftitutiori. 

What  I  have  here  ftated  is  all  that  I  cioiild  advance 
to  the  Colcinei ;  but  my  opinioA  has  been  fince  not  a. 
iittlfe  confirmed,  by  bbferving  tlie  report  olf  experip?, 
ments  by  M,  Brwjmt^JU  of  I^avia;  oh  thfe  atlthbrity 
bf  M.  Crelly  by  which  we  learn,  that  fonie  birds  have 
fo  great  a  diflblvent  power  in  the  gaftric  jtiice,  as  td 
diflblve  in  their  ftomaclis  fiirits^'  rock-cryftal,  cal- 
careous ftones,  arid  ftiells. 

I  beg  only  farther  to  o'bfefvd,'  that  fome  things  in 
Buffon'i  defcriptio'n  of  th6  Paiigolin;  not  apparently 
ijuite  applicable  to  this  anirilal,  miight  have  been  ow- 
ing to  his  defcHptioh  being  only  from  the  view  of  a 
ilned  preparation,  in  which  the  organs  o(  generation 
*Vould  be  obliterated,  and  the  dugS  flirivelled  away  fo 
t&  to  be  imperceptible ;  elfe  that  elegant  philofopher 
covlld  riot  have  aflerted  that^  "  toiis  les  animaiuic  qtia* 
^^dru^edssy  qui  font  converts  d'ecailles,/on^  ovifarcs.^\ 

A  a  2r 


k» 


35^      ON  THE  DISSECTIOM  OF  THE  PANGOLIK* 

Excufe  my  prolixity,  which  is  only  in  me  the  ne- 
ceflary  attendant  of  my  fuperficial  knowledge  of 
things.  In  ingenuoufnefs,  however,  I  hope  that  I 
am  not  inferior  to  any  man :  and  I  am  proud  to  fub» 
fcribe  myfelf^ 


Sir, 


Your  mod  obedient  humble  fervanf^ 


ADAM    BORT. 


GjCy  Septitfiier  i/^y  1789- 


^  Letter  from  Do86r  Anderfon  to  Sir  tf^tlUam  J9im:. 

DEAR  SIR, 

THE  male  Lac  infeft  having  hitherto  efcaped  the 
obfervation  of  naturalifts,  I  fend  the  enclofed  defcrip- 
tion,  made  by  Mr.  William  Roxburgh^  furgeon  on 
this  eftablifhment,  and  botanift  to  the  Honourable 
Company,  in  hopes  you  will  give  it  a  place  in  the 
publication  of  your  Society,  as  Mr.  Roxburgh^  dif* 
covery  will  bring  Lac  a  genus  into  the  clafs  He* 
miptera  ofLinn^tis. 

I  am,  with  efteem. 

Dear  Sir, 

Your  very  obedient  fervant, 

JAMES  ANDERSON. 

Fort  St.  George,  January  2, 1790. 


Aa^ 


•>  ..-..*    ■  .  . ..-. . 


.  i: 


r 


s 


rof.2. 


Tsd/. 


"%r 


M 


W^^W^'A^ 


XXIV, 

ON  THE  LACSBji,  OR  LAC  INSECT. 


BY  MR.  WILLIAM  ROXBURQH« 


COME  pieces  of  very  frefti-looking  lac  adhering 
to  fmall  branches  of  mimqfa  cimrea^  were  brought 
me  from  the  mountains  on  the  20th  of  laft  month. 
I  kept  them  carefully,  and  to-day,  the  4th  of  Decern- 
her^  fourteen  days  from  the  time  they  c^me  from  the 
hills,  myriads  of  exceedingly  minute  animals  were  ob- 
ferved  creeping  about  the  lac  and  branches  it  adhered 
to,  and  more  ftill  ifTuing  from  finall  holes  over  the 
furfacc  of  the  cells:  other  fmall  and  perforated  ex- 
crefcences  were  obferved  with  a  glafs  amongft  the 
perforations,  from  which  the  minute  infefts  iiTued,  re- 
gularly two  to  each  hole,  and  crowned  with  fbme  very 
fine  white  hairs.     When  the  hairs  were  rubbed  off, 
two  white  fpots  appeared.    The  animals,  when  fingle, 
ran  about  pretty  briikly ;  but  in  general  they  were  fp 
numerous  as  to  be  crowded  over  one  another.     Thp 
body  is  oblong,  tapering  moft  towards  the  tail,  below 
plain,  above  convex,  with  a  double,  or  flat  margin :  la-? 
terally  on  the  back  part  of  the  thorax  are  two  fmall  tu- 
bercles, which  may  be  the  eyes  :  the  body  behind  the 
thorax  is  crofTed  with  twelve  rings ;  legs  (ix ;  feelers 
(antennse)  half  the  length  of  the  body,  jointed,  hairy, 
each  ending  in  two  hairs  as  long  as  the  antennae ;  rump, 
a  white  point  between  two  terminal  hairs,  which  are  as 
long  as  the  body  of  the  aninial ;  the  mouth  1  could  not 
fee.  On  opening  the  cells,  the  fqbftance  that  they  were 
formed  of  cannot  be  better  defcribed,  with  refpeft  to 
appearance,  than  by  faying  it  is  like  the  tranfparent 
alriber  that  beads' are  made  of:  the  external  covering 
of  the  cells  may  be  about  half  a  line  thick,  is  re- 
markably ftrong  and  able  to  rcfift  injuries ;  the  par- 
^tions  are  :{nuch  thinner;  the  cells  are  in  general 

A'a4 


^6Z  ONf  THE  LACSHA, 

irregular  fquares,  pentagons,  and  hexagons^  about  art 
eighth  o(an  inch  in  diameter,  and  }  deep;  they  have 
jio  communication  with  each  other :  all  thefe  I  opened 
during  the  time  the  animals  were  ifluing,  contained 
in  one-half  a  fmall  bag  filled  with  a  thick  red  jelly- 
like  liquor,  replete  with  what  I  take  to  be  eggs  ;  thefe 
bagSy  or  utriculi,  adhere  to  the  bottom  of  the  cells,  and 
have  each  two  necks,  which  pafs  through  perforations 
in  the  external  coat  of  the  cells,  forming  the  fore-men- 
tioned  excrefcences,  and  ending  in  fome  very  fine 
hairs.  The  other  half  of  the  cells  have  a  diftinfl: 
opening,  and  contain  a  white  fubdance,  like  fome  > 
few  filaments  of  cotton  rolled  together,  and  numbers 
of  the  infedts  themfelves  ready  to  make  their  exit. 
Several  of  the  fame  infefts  I  obferved  to  have  drawn 
up  their  legs,  and  to  lie  Hat ;  they  did  not  move  on 
being  touched,  nor  did  they  fhow  any  figns  of  life 
with  the  grcatefl  irritation. 

December  5.  The  fame  minute  hexapedes  continue 
ifluing  from  their  cells  in  numbers;  they  are  more 
lively,  of  a  deepened  red  colour,  and  fewer  of  the  mo- 
tionlefs  fort.  To-day  I  faw  the  mouth ;  it  is  a  flat- 
tened point,  about  the  middle  of  the  bread,  which  the 
little  animal  projeds  on  being  comprefled. 

December  6.  The  male  infedls  I  have  found  to*day. 
A  few  of  them  are  conftantly  running  among  the  fe-  . 
males  moft  adlively :  as  yet  they  are  fcarce  more,  I 
imagine,  than  one  to  5000  females,  but  twice  their  fize. 
The  head  is  obtufe ;  eyes  black,  very  large ;  antennae 
clavated,  feathered,  about  |  the  length  of  the  body;  be- 
low the  middle  an  articulation,  fuch  as  thofe  in  the 
legs ;  colour  between  the  eyes  a  beautiful  fliining  gre^n; 
neck  very  fhort;  body  oval,  brown ;  abdomen  oblong, 
:!:(:  Ijngth  of  body  and  head;  legs  fix;  wings  mem- 
'Li:..i;xccus,  four,  longer  than  the  body,  fixed  to  the 


OR   I^AC   INSECT.  365 

fides  of  the  thorax,  narrow  at  their  infertions,  growing 
broader  for  two-thirds  of  tlieir  length,  then  rounded ; 
the  anterior  pair  is  twice  the  fize  of  the  pofterior ;  a 
ftrong  fibre  runs  along  their  anterior ,  margins  ;  they 
lie  flat,  like  wings  of  a  common  fly,  when  it  walks 
or  refts ;  no  hairs  from  the  rump ;  it  fprings  moft 
aftively  to  a  confiderable  diftance  on  being  touched  ; 
mouth  in  the  under  part  of  the  head;  maxillse  tranf- 
verfe.  To-day  the  female  infeds  continue  ifluing  in 
great  numbers,  and  move  about  as  on  the  4th. 

Decemher  7.  The  fjnall  red  infedls  flill  more  nu- 
merous, and  move  about  as  before :  winged  infefts, 
flill  very  few,  continue  adtive.  There  have  been 
frefh  leaves  and  bits  of  the  branches  of  both  mimofa 
cinerea  and  corinda  put  into  the  wide  mouthed  bottle 
with  them  :  they  walk  over  them  indiflferently,  without  * 
fhowing  any  preference,  nor  inclination  to  work  nor 
copulate.  I  opened  a  cell  whence  I  thought  the  winged 
flies  had  come,  and  found  feveral,  eight  or  ten,  more 
in  it,  flruggling  to  (hake  off  their  incumbrances  :  they 
were  in  one  of  thofe  utriculi  mentioned  on  the  4th, 
which  ends  in  two  mouths,  fliut  up  with  fine  white 
hairs,  but  one  of  them  was  open  for  the  exit  of  the 
flies ;  the  other  would  no  doubt  have  opened  in  due 
time  :  this  utriculus  I  found  now  perfeftly  dry,  and 
divided  into  cells  by  exceeding  thin  partitions.  I 
imagine,  before  any  of  the  flies  made  their  efcape,  it  ' 
might  have  contained  about  twenty.  In  thefe  minute 
cells  with  the  living  flies,  or  whence  they  had  made 
their  efcape,  were  fmall  dry  dark  coloured  comprefTed 
grains,  which  may  be  the  dried  excrements  of  the 
flies. 


*  * 

•  •  •  *• 

» 


^  • : : 


364  ON  THE  LACSHA,  OR   LAC   INSECT. 


Noie  by  the  Prejident. 

THE  Hindus  have  fix  names  for  Lacy  bur  they  ge- 
nerally call  it  Ijiicjlia^  from  the  w«//i7^/^of  fmall  in- 
fers, who,  as  they  believe,  difcharge  it  from  their 
llomachs,  and  ar  length  deftroy  the  tree  on  which  they 
form  their  colonies.  A  fine  Pippala  ncsiv  Criflimanagar^ 
is  now  almoft  wholly  dcftroj'ed  by  them. 


XXV. 

THE  SEVENTH 

ANNIVERSARY    DISCOURSE, 

DELIVERED  25  FEBRUARY,  1 79Q. 
BY  THE  PRESIDENT. 

1 

iK  

Gentlemen^ 

ALTHOUGH  we  are  atthis  moment  confiderablj;^ 
nearer  to  the  frontier  of  China  than  to  the  farr 
theft  limit  of  the  Britijh  doniinions  in  Hindujtan^  yet 
the  firft  ftep  that  we  Ihould  take  in  the  philofophical 
journey,  which  I  propofe  for  your  entertainment  at  the 
prefent  meeting,  will  carry  us  to  the  utmoft  verge  of 
the  habitable  globe  known  to  the  beft  geographers  of 
Old  Greece  and  Egypt;  beyond  the  boundary  of  whofe 
knowledge  we  ftiall  difcern  from  the  heights  of  the 
northern  mountains  an  empire  nearly  equal  in  furfacc 
to  a  fquare  of  fifteen  degrees ;  an  empire,  of  which  \ 
do  not  mean  to  aflign  the  precife  limits,  but  which  \ft 
may  cpnfider,  for  the  purpofe  of  this  differt^tion,  as 
embraced  on  two  fides  by  Tartary  and  htdia^  while 
the  ocean  ^feparates  its  other  fides  from  various  jija^* 
tic  ifles  of  great  importance  in  the  commercial  fyuem 
oi Europe.     Annexed  to  that  immenfe  track  of  land  is 
the  penmiula  of  CoreUj  which  a  yaft  oval  bafon  divides 
from  Niforiy  or  Japan^  a  celebr^t^d  an^  imperial  ifland, 
bearing  in  arts  and  in  arms,  in  advantage  of  fitua- 
tion,  but  not  in  felicity  of  government,  a  pre-eminence 
among  eaftern  kingdoms  analogoyis  to  that  of  Britain 
among  the  nations  of  the  wel^.      Sq  many  climates 
■  are  included  in  fo  prodigious  an  serea,  that  while  the 
principal  emporium  of  China  lies  nearly  urider  the 
popict  Its  metropolis  enjoys  the  temperature  of  <&!• 


366  THE  SEVENTH   DISCOURSE: 

mariand:  fuch  too  is  the  dlverfity  of  foil  in  its  fifteen 
provinces,  that,  while  fome  ot  them  are  exquifitely 
fertile,  richly  cultivated,  and  extremely  populous, 
others  are  barren  and  rocky,  dry  and  unfruitful,  with 
plains  as  wild  or  mountains  as  rugged  as  any  in  Scythia^ 
and  thofe  either  wholly  deferted,  or  peopled  by  favage 
hordes,  who,  if  they  be  not  ftill  independent,  have 
been  very  lately  lubdued  by  fhe  perfidy,  rather  than 
the  valour,  of  a  monarch,  who  has  perpetuated  his 
own  breach  of  faith  in  a  Chinefe  poem,  of  which  I 
have  feen  a  tranilation. 

The  word  China^  concerning  which  I  fliall  offer 
fome  new  remarks,  is  well  known  to  the  people  whom 
we  call  the  Chhicfe-y  but  they  never  apply  it  (I  fpeak 
of  the  learned  among  them)  to  themfelves  or  to  their 
country.     Themfelves,  according  to  Father  V'tfdelouy 
they  defcribe  as  the  feoph  of  Han^  or  of  fome  other 
illuftrious  family,  by  the  memory  of  whofe  adtions 
they  flatter  their  national  pride ;    and  their  country 
they  call  Chnm^cue^ox  the  Central  KhgchmyyepxcCtr^t^ 
ing  it  in  their  fymbolical  charafters  by  a  parallelpgranoi. 
exaftly  bifleded.     At  other  times  they  diftinguifh  it 
by  the  words  Tien-hiUj  or  If^haf  is  under  Heceom\ 
meaning  all  that  is  luthiahle  on  earth.      Since  they 
never  name  themfelves  with   moderation,  they  would 
have  no  right  to  complain,  if  they  knew  that  Euro- 
fean  authors  have  ever  fpoken  of  them  in  the  extremes 
of  applaufe  or  of  cenfure.     By  fome  they  have  been 
extolled  as  the  oldeft  and  the  wifeft,  as  the  moft  learned 
and  moft  ingenious '  of  nations ;   whilft  others  have 
derided  their  pretenfions  to  antiquity,  condemned  their 
government  as  abominable,  and  arraigned  their  manners 
as  inhuman,  without  allowing  them  an  element  of  fci- 
cnce,  or  a  fingle  art  for  which  they  have  not  been  in- 
debted to  fome  more  ancient  and  more  civilized  race  of . 
men.  The  truth  perhaps  lies,  vyhere  we  ufually  find  it| 


Vo/.-J. 


r.4oS. 


^■^■fe 


7^391. 


ON    TH5    CHIKESE.  367 

between  the  extremes ;  but  it  is  not  my  defign  to  ac- 
cufe  or  to  defend  the  Chinefe^  to  deprefs  or  to  aggran- 
dize them  :  I  (hall  confine  myfclf  to  the  difcuffion  of 
a  qucftion  connefted  with  my  former  difcourfes,  and 
far  lefs  eafy  to  be  folved  than  any  hitherto  ftarted : 
"  Whence  came  the  lingular  people,  who  long  had 
"  governed  Qh'ina^  before  they  were  conquered  by  the 
**  Tartars?'^  On  this  problem  (thefolution  of  which 
has  no  concern,  indeed,  with  our  poHtical  or  com- 
mercial interefts,  but  a  very  material  connexion,  if  I 
miftake  not,  with  interefts  of  a  higher  nature)  four 
opinions  have  been  advanced,  and  all  rather  peremp* 
ToYiry  aflerted  than  fiipported  by  argument  and  evi- 
dence.    By  a  few  writers  it  has  been  urged,  that  the 
Chinefe  are  an  original  race,  who  have  dwelt  for 
ages,  if  not  from  eternity,  in  the  land  which  they 
now  pofl'efs ;    by  others,  and  chiefly  by  the  mifliona- 
ries,  it  is  infifled  that  they  fprang  from  the  fame  ftock 
with   the  Hebrews  and  Arabs ;  a  third  aflertion  is 
that   of  the   Arabs  themfelves  and    of  M.  Pauw^ 
who  hold  it   indubitable,  that  they  were  originally 
Tartars^  defcending  in    wild  clans  from  the  fteeps 
of  lmaus\    and  a  fourth,  at  leaft  as  dogmatically 
pronounced   as   any  of  the   preceding,    is    that  of 
the  Brahmens^  who  decide,  without  allowing  any  ap-r 
peal  from  their  decifion,  that  the  Chinas  (for  fo  they 
are  named  in  Sanfcrii)  were  Hindus  of  the  CJkatriya^ 
or  military  clafs,  who,  abandoning  the  privileges  of^ 
their  tribe,  rambled  in  different  bodies  to  the  north- 
eafl;  of  Bengal y.  and,  forgetting  by  degrees  the  rites ' 
and  religion  of  their  anccftors,  cftabliflied  fcparatc 
principalities,  which  were  afterwards  united  in  the  plains 
aad  valleys  which  are  now  poffeflTed  by  them.     If  any 
one  of  the  three  laft  opinions  be  juft,  thefirft  of  them 
muft  necefTarily  be  relinquiflied,;   but  of  thofe  thre^, . 
the  firfl:  cannot  poffibly  be  fuftained,  becaufe  it  refts 
on  no  firmer  fupport  than  a  foolifh  remark,  whether 
true  or  falfe,  that  Sent  in  Chinefe  means  life  and  ^ro- 
^reation^i^  and  becaufe  a  tca-plant  is  not  moire  dificrenc ' 


68  T/iL  sLVLNiH  discourse: 

fro:n  a  palm  than  a  Chinefe  from  an  Arab.     Thejr  arc 
men 9  indeeJ,  as  the  tea  and  the  palm  are  vegetables ; 
but  human  fag-icity  could  not,  I  believe,  difcover  any 
other  trace  of  refemblancc  between  them.    One  of  the 
Arahs^  indeed  (an  account  of  whofe  voyage  to  Tadia 
and  China  has  been  tranflated  by  Renaudoi)  thought 
the  Chinefe  not  handfomer  (according  to  his  ideas  of 
beauty)  than  the  Hhulus  ;  but  even  more  like  his  own 
countrymen  in  features,  habiliments,  carriage,  man*^ 
ners,  and  ceremonies :  and  this  may  be  true,  without 
proving  an  actual  refemblance  between  the    Chinefe 
and  Arabsy  except  in  drels  and  complexion.  The  next 
opinion  is  more  connected  with  that  of  the  Brahmens 
than  M.  PaiizVj  probably,  imagined  ;  for,  though  he 
tells  us  exprefsly  that  by  Scythians  he  meant  the  Turisp 
or  Tiirfats,  yet  the  Dragon  on  the  ftandard,  and  (omt 
other  peculiarities,  from  which  he  would  infer  a  clear 
affinity  between  the  old  Tartars  2inA  the  Chinefe y  belong*. 
cd  indubitably  to  thofc  Scythia7is  who  are  known  to  have 
been  Goths  \  and  the  Goths  had  manifeftly  a  common 
lineage  with  the  Hindus^  if  his  own  argument,  in  the 
preface  to  his  Refearches  on  the  Similarity  of  Lan* 
guage  be,  as  all  men  agree  that  it  is,  irrefragable. 
That  the  Chinefe  were  anciently  of  a  Tartarian  uock^ 
is  a  propofition  which  I  cannot  othenvife  difprove 
for  the  prefent,  than  by  infilling  on  the  total  diJ95mi- 
larity  of  the  two  races  in  manners  and  arts,  particularly 
in  the  fine  arts  of  imagination,  which  the  Tartars,  by 
their  own  account,  never  cultivated;  but  if  we  fliow 
flrong   grounds  for  believing  that  the  firft    Chinefe 
were  adually  of  an  Indian  race,  it  will  follow  thatjifi 
Pairuo  and  the  Arabs  are  niillaken.     It  is  to  the  dil^ 
cuflion  of  this  new  and,  in  my  opinion,  very  intereft- 
ing  point,  that  I  IhaJl  confine  the  remainder  of  my 
difcourfe. 

In  the  Sanfcrit  hiflitntes  of  civil  and  religious  du- 
ties, revealed,  as  the  Hindus  believe,  by  Menu^  the  fon 
of  Brahma^  we  find  the  following  curious  paflaget. 


ON    THE    CHINESE.  369 

**  Many  families  of  the   military  clafs  having  gra- 
^^  dually  abandoned  the  ordinances  of  the  Veda^  and 
*'  the  cDinpany  of  Brahmens^  lived  in  a  ftate  of  degra-, 
*^  dation  ;  as  the  people  of  Fundraca  and  Odra^  thofc 
**  of  Dravira  and  Camboja^  the  Yavanas  and  Sacds^ 
'^  the  Paradas  and   Pahlavas^  the  Chinas^  and  fome 
**  other  nations."     A  full  comment  on  his  text  would 
here   be  fuperfluous ;  but,  fince  the  teftimony  of  the 
Indian  author,  who,  though  certainly  not  a  divine  pcr- 
fonage,  was  as  certainly  a  very  ancient  lawyer,  mora- 
lift,  and  hiftorian,  is  dired  and  pofitive,  difinterefted 
and  unfufpeded,  it  would,   I  think,  decide  the  quef- 
tion  before  us,  if  we  could  be  fure  that  the  word  China 
fignified  a  Chhiefe^  as  all  the  Pandits j  whom  I  have  fe- 
parately  confulted,  affert  with  one  voice.    They  affure 
me,  that  the  Chinas  of  Menu  fettled  in  a  fine  country 
to  the  north- eaft  of  Gaur^  and  to  the  eaft  of  Camarup 
and  Nepal ;  that  they  have  long  been,  and  ftill  are, 
famed  as  ingenious  artificers ;  and  that  they  had  them* 
felves  feen  old  Chinefe  idols,  which  bore  a  manifeft 
relation  to  the  primitive  religion  of  India  before  Bud- 
ha'z  appearance  in  it,  A  well-informed  Pandit  (howed 
me  a  Sanfcrit  book  in  Cajhmirtan  letters,  which,  he 
laid,  was  revealed  by  Siva  himfelf,  and  entitled  &//:- 
tifangama :  he  read  to  me  a  whole  chapter  of  it  on  the 
heterodox  opinions   of  Chinas^  who  were   divided, 
fays  the  author,  into  near  two  hundred  clans.     I  then 
laid  before  him  a  map  of  Afia ;  and,  when  I  pointed 
to  Cajhnuvy  his  own  country,  he  inftantly  placed  his 
finger  on  t1ie  north-weflern  provinces  oi.Chinaj  where 
the  Chinas^  he  faid,  firft  eftabliflied  themfelves;  but 
he  added,  that  Mahachina^  which  was  alfo  mentioned 
in  his  book,   extended  to  the  eaftern  and  fouthern 
oceans.     I  believe,  neverthelefs,  that  the  Chinefe  em- 
pire, as  we  now  call  it,  was  not  formed  when  the  laws  of 
Menu  were  coUeded  ;  and  for  this  belief,  fo  repugnant 
\  to  the  general  opinion,  1  am  bound  to  offer  my  reafons. 
If  the  outline  of  hiftory  an(J  chronology  for  the  laft 
two  thoufand  years  be  correftly  traced  (^nd  we  muft 


370  TIfE    SEVENTH    DISCOL'RSE  : 

be  hardy  fceptics  to  doubt  it)  the  potms  of  CaliJas 
were  compofed  before  the  beginning  of  our  era.  Now 
it  is  clear,  from  internal  and  external  evidence,  that 
the  Ramayan  and  Mahahharat  were  confiderably  older 
than  the  productions  ot  that  poet ;  and  it  appears  from 
the  ftyle  and  metre  of  the  Dhervui  Siijlra^  revealed  by 
Menuy  that  it  was  reduced  to  writing  long  before  the 
age  of  yahnic  or  l-'yafa.  the  fecond  of  whom  names 
it  with  applaufe.  We  (hall  not,  therefore,  be  thought 
extravagant  if  we  place  the  compiler  of  thofe  laws  be- 
tween a  thoufand  and  fifteen  hundred  years  before 
Chri/l ;  efpccially  as  Ihuidha^  whofe  age  is  pretty  well 
afcertained,  is  not  mentioned  in  them ;  but,  in  the 
twelfth  century  before  our  era,  the  Chinefe  empire 
was  at  lead  in  its  cradle.  This  fact  it  is  neceflary  to 
prove;  and  my  firft  witncfs  is  Confucius  himfelf.  I 
know  to  what  keen  faiirc  I  (liall  expofe  myfelf  by  ci- 
ting that  philofophcr,  after  the  bitter  farcaims  of  M.. 
Puuw  againil  him  and  againft  the  tranflators  of  his 
mutilated,  but  valuable  works;  yet  I  quote  without 
fcnipie  the  book  entitled  Lun  Yu^  of  which  I  poflefs 
the  original  with  a  verbal  tranflation,  and  which  I 
know  to  be  fufficicntly  autlientic  for  my  prefent  pur- 
pi'>fe.  In  the  fecond  part  of  it  Omfu-f/u  declares,  that 
•*  Aliho'he,likeothcr  men, could  relate,  as  mere Icffon* 
**  of  morality,  the  hillories  of  the  firft  and  fecond  im- 
*^  perial  houfes,  yet,  for  '-jLuvnt  of  evtJejice^  he  could 
•'  give  no  certain  account  of  them."  Now,  if  the  CM- 
vefe  themfclves  do  not  even  pretend  that  any  hifto- 
rical  monument  exifted  in  the  age  of  Confuc'vusy  j>rc- 
ceding  the  rife  of  their  third  dynafty,  about  eleven 
Inmdred  years  before  the  Chriflian  epoch,  we  may 
juftly  concKide  that  the  reign  of  Vuvam  was  in  the 
infancy  of  their  empire,  which  hardly  grew  to  maturity 
till  fomcagcs  after  that  prince ;  and  it  has  beenaflertcd 
by  very  learned  Europeans^  that  even  of  the  third 
dynafty,  which  he  has  the  fame  of  having  raifed,  no 
iinfu(pc(!:^cd  memorial  can  now  be  produced.  \\  waS 
not  lill  the  eighth  ccnturj'  before  the  birth  of  o«. 


ON    THE    CHINESE.  37I 

Saviour,  that  a  fmall  kingdom  was  erefted  in  the  pro- 
vince of  Shen-Ji,  the  capital  of  which  ftood  nearly 
in   the  thirty  fifth  degree  of  northern  latitude^  and 
about  five  degrees  to  the  weft  of  S't-gan  \   both  the 
country  and  its  metropolis  were  called  Ch'm  ;  and  the 
dominion  of  its  princes  was  gradually  extended  to  the 
^aft  and  weft.     A  king  of  Chin^  who  makes  a  figure 
in  the  Shahnamah  among  the  allies  of  Afrafiyahy  was, 
I   prefume,   a  fovereign   of  the  country  juft    men- 
tioned ;  and  the  river  of  Chin^  which  the  poet  fre- 
quently names   as   the  limit  of  his   eaftern  geogra- 
phy, feems  to  have  been  the  Yellow  Hiver,  which  the 
Chinefe  introduce  at  the  beginning  of  their  fabulous 
annals.     I  (hould  be  tempted  to  expatiate  on  fo  curi- 
ous a  fubjed,  but  the  preferit  occafion  allows  nothing 
fuperfluous,  and^permits  me  only  to  add,  that  ik&«- 
gtikhan  died  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
before  the  city  of  Chin,  which  was  afterwards  taken 
by  Kublai^  and  that   the  poets   of  Iran  perpetually 
allude  to  the  diftrifts  around  it  which  they  celebrate, 
with  Chegil  and  Khoien^  for  a  number  of  mufk-ani- 
mals  roving  on  their  hills.     The  territory  of  Chin^  fo 
called  by  .the  old  Hindus,  by  the  Perfians,  and  by  the 
Chinefe  fwhile  the  Greeks  and  Arabs  were  obliged  by 
their  defective  articulation  to  mifcall  it  Sin)  gave  its 
name  to  a  race  of  emperors,  whofe  tyranny  made 
their  memory  fo  unpopular,  that  the  modern  inhabit- 
ants of  "China  hold  the  word  in  abhorrence,  and  (peak 
of  themfelvesas  the  people  of  a  milder  and  more  vir- 
tuous dynafty ;  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  whole 
nation  defcended  from  the  Chinas  of  Menu,  and,  mix- 
ing with  the  Tartars  (by  whom  the  plains  of  Honan 
^nd  the  more  fouthern  provinces  were  thinly  inhabit- 
ed)  formed   by   degrees   the  race    of   men   whom 
we  now  fee  in  poffcflion  of  the  nobleft  empire  in 
j^a. 

In  fupport  of  an  opinion,  which  I  offer  as  the  re- 
iult  of  long  and  anxious  inquiries,  I  (hould  regularly 
Vol.  II.  B  b 


57^  THE    SLVl-NIll    DISCOI'RSI- 


proceed  to  examine  the  language  and  letters,  religion 
and  philofophy  of  the  preleiit  Chm.jey  and  ful^oin 
fume  remarks  on  their  aiicient  njonumenls,  on  their 
Iciences,  and  on  their  arts,  both  liberal  and  mechani- 
cal ;  but  their  fpoktn  Lwgudge  not  having  been  preferv- 
cd  in  the  ufual  rymbolsotanicularc  lourds,  muft  have 
beenTor  many  ages  in  a  continual  flux  ;  their  httm^ 
if  we  may  fo  call  thcni,  arc  niL-rclv  the  fymbols  of  ideas; 
their  popular  rehghn  was  imported  from  hidia  in  aft 
age  comparatively  modern  ;  and  their  y)A/7g/&^7/)'fecnis 
yet  in  fo  rude  a  Hate  as  hardly  to  defcive  the  appella-  ' 
lion  ;  they  have  no  auacni  monwmnls^  from  whidl 
their  origin  can  be  traced  even  b}  plaufible  conjefture; 

their  fcicnccs  are  wholly  exotic ;  and  their  mechmcal 

■J 

arts  have  nothing  in  them  characleriftic  of  a  particu- 
lar family  ;  nothing  which  any  fet  of  men,  in  a  couD'* 
tfy  lb  hii^hly  favoured  by  nature,  might  not  have 
difcovcred  and  improved.  They  have  indeed  both 
national  mufic  and  national  poetry,  and  both  of  thcra 
beautifully  pathetic  ;  .but  of  painting,  fculpture,or  ar- 
chitecture, as  arts  ot  imagination,  they  feem  (like  other 
uiJJat'ics)  to  have  no  idea.  Inllead,  therefore,  of  en- 
larging feparately  on  each  of  thofe  heads,  I  (hall 
briefly  inquire,  hov/  far  the  literature  and  religious 
pia<5tices  of  Ch'nui  confirm  or  oppofe  the  propofition 
which  1  have  advanced. 

The  declared  and  fixed  opinion  of  M.  De  GuigneSy  on 
the  fubjecl  before  us,  is  nearly  connected  with  that  of 
l\\Q  liriihma?is :  he  maintains,  that  the  Chhiefe  V9m 
emigrants  from  Egy[>t  -y  and  the  Egj-ptiahs,  or  E^hio- 
puns  (for  they  wc-re  clearly  the  lame  people)  had  indu- 
bitably a  common  origin  with  the  old  natives  of  Indkj 
as  the  affinity  of  their  languages  and  of  their  inflitu- 
tions,  both  religious  and  political,  fully  evince ;  but 
that  China  was  peopled  a  few  centuries  before  our  era  by 
a  colony  from  the  banks  of  the  jSile,  tho'  neither  Ptr- 
ft  JUS  nov  u-frahf  Tarfiirs  nor  UhuhiSy  ever  heard  of  fiich 
an  emigration^  is  a  paradox,  which  the  bare  authority 


even  x>ffo  learned  a  man  cannot  fupport;  and,  fince  rea- 
fon  grounded  on  fafts  can  alone  decicje  fuch  a  quefiion, 
we  have  a  right  to  deniand  cleairer  evidence  and  (Ironger 
arguments  than  any  that  he  has  yet  adduced.  The 
hieroglyphics  oif  Egypt  bear,  indeed,  a  flrong  rcfem- 
blance  to  the  mythological  fculptures  and  paintings  of 
india^  b\it  feem  wholly  diffimilar  to  the  fymbolical 
fyftem  of  the  Chinefoy  which  might  eafily  have  beeii 
invented  (as  they  aflert)  bj  an  individual,  ahd  might 
very  naturally  have  been  contrived  by  the  firft  Chinas ^ 
or  outcaft  Hindus^  who  either  never  knew^  or  had 
forgotten,  the  alphabetical  charafters  of  their  wifer 
anceftors.  As  to  the  table  and  buft  of  IftSy  thoy^ 
ieefti  to  be  given  up  as  modern  forgeries;  but,  if  they 
were  indifputably  genuine,  they  would  be  nothing  to 
the  purpofe ;  for  the  letters  on  the  buft  appear  to  havef 
been  defigned  as  alphabetical ;  and  the  fabricator  o- 
them  (if  they  really  were  fabricated  in  Europe)  was  Un- 
commonly happy,  fince  two  or  three  of  them  are  ex 
adlly  the  fame  with  thofe  on  a  metal  pillar  yet  ftanding 
in  the  north  of  India.  In  Egypt ^  if  wc  can  rely  on  the 
teftimony  of  the  Greeks y  who  ftudied  no  language 
but  their  own,  there  were  two  fets  of  alphabetical 
tharadcrs ;  the  one  popular j  like  the  various  letters 
ufed  in  our  Indian  provinces;  and  the  other ^^^r- 
dotidy  like  the  Devanagari^  efpecially  that  form  of 
it  which  we  fee  in  the  Veda ;  befides  which  they  had 
two  forts  oi /acred  fcujfture ;  the  one  fimple,  like 
the  figures  of  Buddha  and  the  three  Ramas ;  and  the 
dther  allegorical,  like  the  images  of  Ganefa,  oi  Di* 
^ine  tVifdom^  arid  Ifani,  or  Nature^  with  all  their  cm-, 
blematical  accompanyments ;  but  the  real  chara^er  of 
the  Chinife  appears  wholly  diftind  from  any  Egyptian 
writirtg,  either  myfterious  or  popular:  and^  as  to  the 
fancy  of  M.  de  Guignes^  that  the  complicateil  fymbols 
of  China  were  at  firft  no  more  i\i3,n  Phe^iician  mono- 
grams, let  us  hope  that  he  has  abandoned  fo  wild  a 
conceit j  which  he  flatted  probably  with  no  other  vievf 
than  to  difplay  his  ingenuity  and  learning,. 

B  b  2 


374  'THE    SEVENTH  .DISCOURSE  : 

We  have  ocular  proof  that  the  few  radical  charu^ 
ters  of  the  Chinefe  were  originally  (like  our  aftreno- 
niical  and  chymical  fymbols)  the  pidures  or  outlines 
of  vifiblc  objefts,  or  figurative  figns  for  fimple  ideas^ 
which  they  have  multiplied  by  ihe  moft  ingenious 
combinations  and  the  liveliefl  metaphors;  but^  as  the 

Sftem  is  peculiar,  I  bclie\-e,   to  themfelves  and  the 
jpaneje^  it  would  be  idly  oftentatious  to  enlarge  on 
it  at  prefent ;  and,  for  the  reafons  already  intimated, 
it  neither  corroborates  nor  weakens  the  opinion  whick 
I  endeavour  to  fupport.     The  fame  may  as  truly  be 
faid  of  their  fpokeii  language  \  for,  independently  of 
its  conftant  fluctuation  during  a  ferics  of  ages,  it  has 
the  peculiarity  of  excluding  four  or  five  founds  whiclb 
other  nations  articulate,  and  is  clipped  into  monofyl* 
lablcs,  even  when  the  ideas  exprefled  by  them,  and 
the  written  fymbols  for  thofe  ideas,  arc  very  com» 
plex.     This  has  arifen,  1  fuppofe,  from  the  fingular 
habits  of  the    people;   for,  though  their  common 
tongue  be  lb  mujically  accented  as  to  form  a  kind  of  re» 
citative,  yet  it  wants  t\\o{t  grcnnmut'ical  accents,  with- 
out which  all  human  tongues  would  appear  monofyl- 
Jabic.  Thus  Am'ita^  with  an  accent  on  the  firflfyllable, 
lueiuis,  in   the  Sanfcrit  language,  immeq/urahle i  and 
the  natives  of  Bengal  pronounce  it  Omito  ;  but  whca 
the  religion  of  Buddha^  the  fon  of  Maya^  was  carried 
hence  into  Chhui^  the  people  of  that  country,  unable 
to  pronounce  the  name  of  their  new  God,  called  him 
Fue^  the  fon  of  Mo^ye^  and  divided  his  epithet  Amiia 
into  three  fyllables  O-rnl-tOy  annexing  to  them  certain 
ideas  of  their  own,  and  cxpreiling  them  in  writing 
by  three  diftinft  fymbols.     '\\''e  may  judge  firom  this 
inilance,  whether  a  comparilbn  of  their  fpoken  tongue 
with  the  diale(51s  of  other  nations  can  lead  to  any  cer- 
tain conclufion  as  to  their  origin;  yet  the  inftancc 
which  I  have  given,   fupplies  me  with  an  argument 
from  analogy,  which  I  produce  as  conjeftural  only,  but 
which  appears  more  and  more  plaufible  the  oftener  I 


ON  TH3E  CHINESE*         ^  575 

6onlider  it.     The  Buddha  of  the  Hlndm  is  unqu^ftionr 
ably  the  Foe  of  China ;  but  the  great  progenitor  erf 
the  Chinefe  is  aHb  named  by  them  Fo-hij  where  .th$ 
fecond  monofyllable  fignifies,  it  feems,  a  viffim.  Now 
the  anceftor  of  that  mihtary  tribe,  whom  the  Hindus 
call  the  Chandravan/hy  or  Children  of  the  Moon,  was, 
according  to  their  Puranas  or  legends,  Buddha^  or  the 
genius  of  the  planet  Mercury^  frotn   whom,  in   tht 
jfi//A  degree,  defcended  a  prince  named  Druhya ;  whom 
his  father  Kay^/i  fent  in  exile  to  the  eaft  of  /ft/»- 
dufian,  with  this  imprecation,  *^  May  thy  progeny  b? 
**  ignorant  of  the  V^d^^^    The  nam^  of  the  bani(he<i 
jprince  could  not  be  pronounced  by  the  modern  Chineft^*^ 
and,  though  I  dare  not  conjedture  that  the  laft  fylla- 
ble  of  it  has  been  changed  into  Yao^  I  may  neverthier 
Jefs  obferve  that  Jao  was  the  ffth  in  defccnt  from 
JFo'hiy  or  at  l^ft  the  fifth  mortal  in  the  firft  imperial 
dynafty  5  that  all  CJfinefe  hiftory  before  him  is  confir 
dered  by  the  Chinefe  themfelyes  as  poetical  or  fabulous^ 
that  his  father  Ti-rp,  like  the  Indian  king  Yayati,  was 
the  firft  prince  who  married  feveral  women;  and  that 
Fo-hiy  the  head  of  their  race,  appeared,  fay  the  Cbi^ 
nefe,  in  a  province  of  the  weft,  and  held  his  court  ia 
the  territory  of  Chiny  where  the  rovers,  mentioned  by 
the  Indian  legiflator,  are  fuppofed  to  have  fettled. 
Another  circumftance  in  the  parallel  is  very  remarkf 
able : — According  to  Father  De  Premare^  in  his  tra£t 
on  Chinefe  Mythology,  the  mother  of  Fo-hi  was  the 
Daughter  of  Heaveti^  furnamed  Flower^hvinF ;  and 
as  the  nymph  was  walking  alone  on  the  bank  oi  a  river 
with  a  fimilar  name,  (he  found  herfelf  on  a  fudden 
encircled  by  a  rainbow  ;  foon  after  which  (he  became 
pregnant,  and  at  the  end  of  twelve  years  was  delivered 
pf  a  fon  radiant  as  herfelf,  who,  among  other  titles, 
bad  that  of  Sni^  or  Star  of  the  Year.     Now,  in  the 
roythological  fyftem  of  thie  Hindu^^  the  nymph  Rohini^ 
who  prelides  over  the  fourth  lunar  manfion,  was  the 
fiiVQoritc  miftrefe  of  Sonia^   or  tlic  Moon,   among 

Bb  c^ 


37^  THE  SEVENTH  DISCOURSE  3 

whofe  numerous  epithets  we  find  Cumudnnayaea,  or 
Delightirtg  in  a  fpecies  of  water-flower  that  blpflbms 
ac  night ;  and  their  offspring  was  Buddha ^  regent  of  a 
planet,  and  called  alfo,  from  the  names  of  his  parents 
Rauhineya^  or  Saianya.   It  is  true  that  the  learned  mif- 
fionary  explains  the  word  Suihy  Jupiter i  but  an  exad 
refemblance  between  two  fuch  fables  could  not  have 
been  expeded;  and  it  is  fufficient  for  my  purpofe 
that  they  feem  to  have  a  family  likencfs.     The  God 
Buddha^  fay  the  Indians^  married  Ila^  whofe  father  was 
preferved  in  a  miraculous  ark  from  an  univerfal  de- 
luge.    Now,  although  1  cannot  infift  with  confidence 
that  the  rainbow  in  the  Chincfe  fable  alludes  to  the 
Mcjhic  narrative  of  the  flood,   nor  build  ariy  folid 
argument  on  the  divine  perfonage  Niu-va,  of  whofe 
charadler,  and  even  of  whofe   fex,  the  hiftoiians  of 
China    fpeak  very   doubtfully,    I    may  neverthclefe, 
afllire  you,  after  full  inquiry  and  confideration,  that 
;ihe  Chinefe,  like  the  Himitis^  believe  this  earth  to  have 
been  wholly  covered  with  water,  which,  in  works  of 
tindifpured  authenticity,  they  defcribe  as  floivingahun* 
^anthy  thcnjubjiifwg^  cmi  frparutittg  the  higher  from 
the  lower  age  of  viayikifid\   that  the  drSifion  of  ilme, 
from  which  their  poetical  hiftory  begins,  juftbfecedd 
the  appearance  of  Fo-hion  the  mountains  of  Chin;  but 
that  the  great  imoidation  in  the  reign  of  Yao  was  either 
confined  to  the   lowlands   of  his   kingdom,    if  the 
whole  account  of  it  be  not  a  fable,  or,  if  it  contain  any 
allijfion  to  the  flood  of  Isoah^  has  been  ignorantly  mif- 
placed  by  the  Chineje  annalifts- 

The  importation  of  a  new  religion  into  CJima  in  the 
firft  century  of  our  era,  muft  lead  us  to  fuppofe  that 
the  former  fyftem,  whatever  it  was,  had  been  found 
inadequate  to  the  purpofe  of  reftraining  the  great  body 
of  the  people  from  thofe  offences  againftconfcienccand 
virtue,  which  the  civil  power  could  not  reach ;  and  itii 
hardly  ppfliblc  that,  without  fuch  reftridions,  any  gp- 
vernmcm  could  long  have  lubfilted  with  felicity  j  foiflC) 


ON  THE  CHINESE,  377 

governmsnt  can  long  fubfift  without  equal  jufticc,  wd 
juftice  cannot  be  adminiftered  without  the. fanftions 
of  religion.  Of  the  religious  opinions  entertained  by 
Coyifucius  and  his  followers,  we  may  glean  a  general  no- 
tion from  the  fragments  of  their  works  tranflated  by 
Couplet.  They  profefled  a  firm  belief  in  the  Supreme 
God,  and  gave  a  detnbnftration  of  his  being  and  of  his 
providence  from  the  exquifite  beauty  and  perfeftion  of 
the  celeftial  bodies,  and  the  wonderful  order  of  nature 
in  the  whole  fabric  of  the  vifible  world.  From  this 
belief,  they  deduced  a  fyftem  of  ethics,  which  the  phi* 
lofopher  lums  up  in  a  fev/  words  at  the  clofe  of  the 
Lun-yu:  ^*  He,"  fays  ConfuciuSy  "  who  will  be  fully 
"  perfuaded  that  the  Lord  of  Heaven  governs  the 
"  univerfe,  who  (hall  in  all  things  chufe-  moderation, 
^*  who  (hall  perfeftly  know  his  own  fpecies,  and  fo  adt 
**  among  them  that  his  life  and  manners  may  con- 
^*  form  to  his  knowledge  of  God  and  man,  may  be 
*^  truly  faid  to  difcharge  all  the  duties  of  a  fage,  and 
*^  to  be  far  exalted  above  the  common  herd  of  the 
**' human  race.'*  But  fuch  a  religion  and  fuch  mora- 
lity could  never  have  been  general;  and  we  find  that 
the  people  of  China  had  an  ancient  fyftem  of  ceremo- 
nies and  fuperflitions,  which  the  government  and  the 
philofophers  appear  to  have  encouraged,  and  which 
has  an  apparent  affinity  with  fome  parts  of  the  oldeft 
hidian  worQiip.  They  believed  in  the  agency  of  genii, 
or  tutelary  fpirits,  prcfiding  over  the  ftars  and  the 
clouds,  over  lakes  and  rivers,  mountains,  valleys,  and 
woods,  over  certain  regions  and  towns,  over  all  the  ele- 
ments (of  which,  like  the  Hindus ^  they  reckoned j^v^) 
and  particularly  ow^x  fir e^  the  moft  brilliant  .of  them; 
To  thofe  deities  they  offered  vidtims  on  high  places : 
and  the  following  paflage  from  the  Shi^ciny  or  Book  of 
Odes,  is  very  much  in  the  ftyle  of  the  Brahmans  ;-^ 
•'  Even  they,  who  perform  a  facrifice  with  a  due  reve- 
•f  rence,  cannot  perfeftly  afllire'themfelves  that  the -di- 
^*  vine  fpirits  accept  their  oblations;  and  far  lefs  cai\ 
'  ^.  they^ who  adore  the  Gods  with  languor  and  ofcit^ncy. 


jSo  THE    bhVKyTH    DISCOURSE: 

bic  argument,  if  the  preceding  part  of  this  difcourfc, 
on  the  origin  of  the  Chwefe^  be  thought  to  contaia 
jull  reafoning.  In  the  firft  place,  it  fecms  incon- 
ceivable that  the  Jaf^amfe.^  who  never  appear  to  have 
been  conquerors  or  conquered,  fliould  have  adopted 
the  whole  fyflem  of  Chhwfe  literature  with  all  its  in- 
conveniences and  intricacies,  if  an  immemorial  con- 
nexion had  not  fubliftcd  between  the  two  nations,  or, 
in  other  words,  if  the  blood  and  ingenious  race  who 
j>copled  Japan  in  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  cen- 
tury before  Clirijlj  and,  about  fix  hundred  years 
afterwards  cftabliflicd  their  monarchy,  had  not  car- 
ried with  them  the  letters  and  learning  which  they 
and  the  Chhieje  had  poflcfl'ed  in  common  ;  but  my 
principal  argument  is,  that  the  Hhidu  or  Egyptian 
idolatry  has  prevailed  in  Ju[ian  from  the  earlielt  ages  j 
and  among  the  idols  worlhipped,  according  to 
KiVTvpfer^  in  that  country  before  the  innovations  of 
Sacya  or  Buddha^  whom  the  dapancfe  alfo  called  ^mi" 
da,  we  find  many  of  thofe  which  we  fee  every  day 
in  the  temples  of  Bertcral ;  particularly  ihe  goddefs 
'ivifh  r?uuty  ar7us,  rtprefenting  the  powers  of  nature  ;  in 
FjgypP  named  ]fis,  and  here  Ifatii  or  /// ;  whofc  image, 
as  it  is  exhibited  by  the  Gcjinan  traveller,  all  the 
Brahmins  to  whom  I  fhowcd  it,  immediately  recog- 
nized with  a  mixture  of  pleafurc  ^nd  enchuiiafm.  -^ 
It  is  very  true  that  the  Chinc/e  differ  widely  frotn 
the  natives  of  Japan  in  their  vernacular  dialefts,  in 
externa!  manners,  and  perhaps  in  the  ftrcngth  of  their 
mental  faculties ;  but  as  wide  a  difference  is  obferva- 
hlc  among  all  the  nations  of  the  Golhic  family  5  and 
v.*e  mi::^lit  account  even  for  a  greater  diflimilarity,  by 
confidcrin^  the  number  of  ages  during  which  the  fe- 
vcral  fwarms  have  been  feparated  from  the  great  /w- 
dian  hive,  to  wliich  ihcy  primarily  belonged.  The 
modern  Juhanffe  gave  Kccwpfer  the  idea  of  poliQied 
Tarla7^\  and  it  is  reafonable  to  believe,  that  the  peo- 
ple of  JaiKi'j.  w'no  \yerc  originally  Hindus  of  the  mar- 


ON    THE    CHINESE.  381 

tiai  clafs,  and  advanced  farther  eaftward  than  the  Chi^ 
nasy  have,  like  them,  inlenfibly  changed  their  fea- 
tures and  characters  by  intermarriages  with  various 
Tartarian  tribes,  whom  they  found  loofely  fcattered 
over  their  ifles,  or  who  afterwards  fixed  their  abode  in 
them. 

Having  now  (hown,  in  five  dlfcourfes,  that  the 
j1rahs2iiiA  Tartars  were  originally  diftinft  races,  while 
the  HinduSy  Chhiefe^  and  Japantfe  proceeded  from 
another  ancient  ftem,  and  that  all  the  three  ftems  may 
be  traced  to  Iran^  as  to  a  common  centre,  from  which 
it  is  highly  probable  that  they  diverged  in  various  direc- 
tions about  four  thoufand  years  ago,  I  .may  feem  to 
have  accomplilhed  my  defign  of  inveftigating  the  ori- 
gin of  the  Jljiatic  nations ;  but  the  queftions  which  I 
undertook  to  difcyfs,  are  not  yet  ripe  for  a  drift  analy- 
tical argument ;  and  it  will  firft  be  neceffary  to  exa- 
mine with  fcrupulous  attention  all  the  detached  or 
infulated  races  of  men,  who  either  inhabit  the  borders 
of  ImJiay  Arabia,  Tartary,  Terfta,  and  Chinas  or  are 
interfperfed  in  the  mountainous  and  uncultivated  parts 
pf  thofe  extenfive  regions.  To  this  examination  1 
(hall,  at  our  next  annual  meeting,  allot  an  entire  dif- 
courfe  ;  and  if,  after  all  our  inquiries,  no  more  than 
fhree  primitive  races  can  be  found,  it  will  be  a  fubfe- 
quent  confideration  whether  thofe  three  flocks  had  one 
common  root ;  and,  if  they  had,  by  what  means  that 
root  was  preferved  amid  the  violent  (hocks  which  our 
wliQle  globe  appears  evidently  to  have  fuftained. 


1 


M 


XXVI. 

THE  TRJNSLJ'JION  OF  JN  INSCRTPHON 
IN  THE  MAGA  LANGUAGE, 

Engraved  on  a  Silver  Tlate^  found  in  a  Cave 

near  IJlaniabad. 


COMMUNICATED    BY    JOHN  SHORE,  ESQ. 


9 


/^N  the   14th  of  Magha  904,   Chandi  Lah  Raja 

by  the  avivice  of  Bowangari  RauJiy  who  was  the 
diredlor  of  his  ftudies  and  devotions,  and  in  confor- 
mity to  the  (entiments  of  twenty-eight  other  RauUs^ 
formed  the  defign  of  eftablifhing  a  place  of  religious 
worfhip;  for  which  purpofe  a  cave  was 'dug,  and 
paved  with  bricks,  three  cubits  ia  depth,  and  three 
cubits  alfo  in  diameter  ;  in  which  were  depofited  one 
hundred  and  twenty  brazen  images  of  fmall  dimen- 
fions,  denominated  Tahmudas  \  alfo,  twenty  brazen 
images  larger  than  the  former,  denominated  Languda  ; 
there  was  likewife  a  large  image  of  ftone,  called  Langu- 
dagari^  with  a  veflel  of  brafs,  in  which  were  depofited 
two  of  the  bones  of  T'hacur.  On  a  filver  plate  were 
infcribed  the  Hauca^  or  the  mandates  of  the  Deity; 
with  that  alfo  ftyled  Taumah  Chuckfowna  Tahma^  to 
tl'ie  ftudy  of  which  twenty-eight  RauJis  devote  their 
time  and  attention ;  who,  having  celebrated  the  pre- 
fent  work  of  devotion  with  feltivals  apd  Rejoicings, 
ereAed  over  the  cave  a  place  of  religious  worlhip  for 
the  Magasy  in  honour  of  the  deity. 

God  fent  into  the  world  Buddha  Avatar  to  inftruft 
and  direft  the  fteps  of  angels  and  of  men ;  of  whofe 
birth  and  origin  the  following  is  a  relation  : — ^When 
Buddha  Avatar  defcended  from  the  region  of  fouls,  in 


% 


*  Perhaps  Sundilyak^ 


^  • 


584  AN   IKSCRIPTION    IN  A  CAVE 

the  month  of  Mjghy  and  entered  the  body  of  Maha* 
maya^  the  wife  of  Soot  ah  Ihirmahy  Raja  of  Cailas^ 
her  womb  fuddenly  allumed  the  appearance  of  clc^ 
tranfpaient  cryllal,  in  which  Buddha  appeared,  beau- 
tiful as  a  flower,  kneeling  and  redining  on  his  bands. 
After  ten  months  and  ten  days  of  her  pregnancy  had 
elapfed,    Mahamaya    folicited    permiflion    from  her 
hulband,  the  Raja^  to  vifit  her  father  :  in  conformity 
to  which  the  roads  were  diredd  to  be  repaired  and 
made  clear  for  her  journey ;  fruit-trees  were  planted, 
water- veflTels  placed  on  the  road-fide,  and  great  illu- 
minations prepared  for  the  occafion.     Mahamaya  theft 
commenced  her  journey,  and  arrived  at  a  garden  ad- 
joining to  the  road,  where  incHnation  led  her  to  walk 
and  gather  flowers.     At  this  time,  being  fuddenly  at- 
tacked with  the  pains  of  child-birth,  Ihe  laid  hold  on 
the  trees  for  fupport,  which  decHned  their  boughs  at 
the  inftant,.  for  the  purpofe  of  concealing  her  perfon, 
while  flie  was  delivered  of  the  child  ;  at  which  junc- 
ture Brahma  himfelf  attended  with  a  golden  veffel  ia 
bis  hand,  on  which  he  laid  the  child,  and  delivered 
it  to  Indrdy  by  whom  it  was  committed  to  the  charge 
of  a  female  attendant ;  upon  which  the  child,  alight- 
ing from  her  arms,  walked  feven  paces,  whence  it  was 
taken  up  by  Mahamaya  and  carried  to  her  houle,  and, 
on  the  enfuing  morning,  news  were  circulated  of  a 
xhild  being  born  in  the  Raja's  family.     At  this  time 
TiipaJ'-ji'i  Mun'iy  who,  reficling  in  the  woods,  devoted 
his  time  to  the  worfliip  of  the  deity,  learned  by  infpi* 
ration  that  Buddha  was  come  to  life  in  the  Rajahs  pa- 
lace :  he  flew  through  tlic  air  to  the  Rajahs  relidence, 
where,  fitting  on  a  throne,  he  faid,  ^*  1  have  repaired 
•^  hither  for  the  purpofe  of  vifiiingthe  child.'*    BuJ* 
dha  was  accordingly  brought  into  his  prefence.     The 
Muni  obferved  two  feet  fixed  on  his  head,  and,  divin- 
ing fomething  both  of  good  and  bad  import^  began 
to  weep  and  Tangh  alternately.     The  Raja  theil  quef- 
tionrd  him  with  regard  to  his  prefent  impulfe,  to  whom 
he  anfwcrcd,  *^  1.  muft  Hot  refide  in  the  fame  place 


NEAfe    ISLAMABAD.  3^5 

*'  With  Buddha  when  he  fliall  arrive  at  the  rank  of 
Avatar  \  this  is  the  caufe  of  my  prefent  afflidion  ; 
but  I  am  even  now  affefted  with  gladnefs  by  his 
prefence,  as  I  am  hereby  abfolved  from  all  my 
tranfgreffions  '*  The  Muni  then  departed  ;  and, 
after  five  days  had  elapfed,  he  aflembled  four  Pandits 
for  the  pur}X)fe  of  calculating  the  deftiny  of  the  child; 
three  of  whom  divined,  that,  as  he  had  marks  on  his 
hands  refembling  a  wheel,  he  would  at  length  become 
a  Raja  Chacraverti :  another  divined,  that  he  would 
.arrive  at 'the  dignity  oi  Avutar. 

The  boy  was  now  named  Sacya^  and  had  attained 
che  age  of  fixteen  years;  at  which  period  it  happened 
chat  the  Raja  Chuhidan  had  a  daughter  named  Fafu- 
tarUy  whom  he  had  engaged  not  to  give  in  marriage 
to  any  one,  till  {uch  time  as  a  fuitor  Ihould  be  found 
who  could  brace  a  certain  bow  in  his  pofleflion, 
which  hitherto  many  Rajas  had  attempted  to  accom- 
pli 111  without  effect-  Sacya  now  fucceeded  in  the 
attempt,  and  accordingly  obtained  the  Rajahs  daugh- 
ter in  marriage,  with  whom  he  repaired  to  his  own 
place  of  refidence. 

One  day,  as  certain  myfteries  were  revealed  to  him, 
he  formed  the  defign  of  relinquifliing  his  dominion ; 
at  which  time  a  fon  was  born  in  his  houfe,  whofc 
name  was  Raghu,  Sacya  then  left  his  palace  with 
only  one  attendant  and  a  horfe,  and,  having  croffed 
the  river  Ganga^  arrived  at  Balucalij  where,  hv'iving 
direded  his  iervant  to  leave  him  and  carry  away  his 
horfe,  he  laid  aiide  his  armour. 

When  the  world  was  created,  there  appeared  five 
Howei^,  which  Brahma  depofited  in  a  place  of  fafety; 
;hrec  of  them  were  afterwards  delivered  to  the  three 
T'haairs,    and    one  was  prefentcd  to  Sacya^  whQ 


386  AN   INSCKIPTION    IX  A  CAVE 

difcovered,  that  it  contained  fome  pieces  of  wearing- 
apparel,  in  which  he  clothed  himfelf,  and  adopted 
the  manners  and  life  of  a  mendicant.  A  traveller 
one  day  palled  by  him  with  eight  bundles  of  grafs 
on  his  flioulders,  and  addrefled  him,  faying,  •*  A 
•*  long  period  of  time  has  elapfed  fince  I  have  feen 
"  the  7  ^kacuKi  but  now  fince  I  have  the  happincfs 
••  to  meet  him,  I  beg  to  prefent  him  an  offering,  con- 
*'  lifting  of  thefe  bundles  of  grafs/'  S^cva  accord- 
ingly accepted  of  the  grafs,  and  repofed  on  it.  At 
that  time  there  fuddenly  appeared  a  golden  temple, 
containing  a  chair  of  wrought  gold  ;  and  the  height  of 
the  temple  was  thirty  cubits,  upon  which  Brahma 
alighted,  and  held  a  canopy  over  the  head  of  Sacya: 
at  the  fame  time  Iruiru  defcendcd,  with  a  large  fan  in 
his  hand,  and  ^ot^^a^  the  Raja  of  ferpents,  with  Ihoes 
in  his  hand,  together  with  the  four  tutelar  deities  of 
the  four  corners  of  ihe  univcrfe ;  who  all  attended  to 
do  him  fcrvicc  and  reverence.  At  this  time  likewifc 
the  chief  of  uljiin  with  his  forces  arrived,  riding  on 
an  elephant,  to  give  battle  to  Sacya  ;  upon  which 
Brahma^  Imivuy  and  the  other  deities  deferted  him 
and  vaniflicd.  Sacyay  obfcjving  that  he  was  left 
filonc,  invoked  the  afiilhince  of  the  earth  ;  who,  at- 
tending; at  his  fummons,  brou2:ht  an  inundation  over 
afl  the  ground;  whereby  the  ^^l^hr  and  his  forces  were, 
vanquiihcd,  and  compelled  to  retire. 

At  this  time  five  holy  fcriptures  defcended  from 
above,  and  Sana  was  dignified  with  the  title  of  Rud-^ 
dlui  Avaiar.  The  fcriptures  confer  powers  of  know- 
ledge and  rctrofpeftion,  the  ability  of  accomplifliing 
xhe  impulfcs  of  the  heart,  and  of  carrying  into  effedt 
the  words  of  the  mouth.  Sacya  refided  here,  without 
breaking  his  faft,  twenty-one  days,  and  then  retumetlL 
to  his  own  country,  where  he  prefides  over  Raja^^ 
governing  them  with  care  and  equity. 


KEAlt    ISLAMABAD.  387 

Whoever  reads  the  G/r/V,  his  body,  apparel,  and  the 
place  of  his  devotions  muft  be  purified  ^  he  (hall  be 
thereby  delivered  from  the  evil  machinations  of  de* 
mons  and  of  his  enemies  i  and  the  ways  of  redemp* 
tion  (hall  be  open  to  him.  Btiddha  Avatar  infbrudted 
a  certain  Rauli^  by  name  AnguU  Mala^  in  the  writings 
of  the  Caricy  faying,  "  whoever  (hall  read  and  fluay 
them,  his  foul  (haU  not  undergo  a  tranfmigration  :" 
and  the  fcriptures  were  thence  called  AnguU  Mala. 
There  were  likewife  five  other  books  of  the  Carte y  de- 
nominated Vachananiy  which  if  any  one  perufe,  he 
(hall  therefore  be  exempted  from  poverty  and  the 
machinations  of  his  enemies ;  he  (hall  alfo  be  exalted  to 
dignity  and  honours,  and  the  length  of  his  days  (hall 
be  protrafted.  The  (ludy  of  the  Carte  heals  afflidions 
and  pains  of  the  body ;  and  whoever  (hall  have  faith 
therein^  Heaven  and  blifs  (hall  be  the  reward  of  his 
piety. 


Vol-  II.  C  c 


\ 


XXVIL 

^  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  ESSAY 
ON  INDIAN  CHRONOLOGY. 


BY    THE    PRESIDENT. 


I^UR  ingenious  aflbciate  Mr.  Samuel  Davis  (whom 
I  name  with  refpedt  and  applaule,  and  who  will 
fooh,  I  truft,  convince  M.  Bailly  that  it  is  very  pofli- 
ble  for  an  European  to  tranflate  and  explain  the  Surya 
Siddhanta)  favoured  me  lately  with  a  copy,  taken  by 
his  Pandit^  of  the  original  pafTage,  mentioned  in  his 
paper  on  the  Aftronomical  Computations  of  the  Hindm 
concerning  the  jplaces  of  the  colures  in  the  time  of 
Faraha,  compared  with  their  pofition  in  the  age  of  % 
certain  Muniy  or  ancient  Indian  philofopber  ;  and  tho- 
paffage  appears  to  afford  evidence  of  two  aftual  ob* 
icrvations,  which  will  afcertain  the  chronology  of  the 
Hindus,  if  not  by  rigorous  demonftration,  at  leaft  by 
^  Dear  approach  to  it. 

'The  copy  of  the  Varahifanhitay  from  which  the 
three  pages  received  by  me  had  been  tranfcribed,  is 
unhappily  fo  incorreft  (if  the  iranfcript  itfelf  was  not 
haftily  made)  that  every  line  of  it  muft  be  disfi- 
gured by  fome  grofs  error;  and  my  Pandit y  who 
examined  the  paflage  carefully  at  his  own  houfe,  gave 
it  up  as  inexplicable  ;  fo  that,  if  I  had  not  fludied 
the  fyftem  of  Sanfcrit  profody,  I  fhould  have  laid 
it  afide  in  defpair :  but  though  it  was  written  as  profe, 
without  any  fort  of  diftindlion  or  punftuation,  yet, 
when  I  read  it  aloud,  my  ear  caught,  in  fome  fentences, 
the  cadence  of  verfe,  and  of  a  particular  metre,  called 
Arya,  which  is  regulated  (not  by  the  wwwa^^rof  fyllables, 
like  other  Indian  meafures,  but;  by  the  proportion  of 

C  c  2 


39©  A   St^P^LBMKKT   TO    THE   ESS4Y 

timeSf  or  J^'llahic  moments^  in  the  four  divifioos  of 
which  every  flanza  coniifts.  By  numbering  thofe  mo« 
mcntsand  fixing  their  proportion,  1  was  enabled  to  re- 
ftore  the  text  of  Far  aha  y  with  the  perfcdl  aflent  of  the 
learned  Brahmen  who  attends  me ;  and,  with  bis  af- 
fiftance,  I  alfo  corrected  the  comment,  written  by 
Bhattotpahy  who,  it  feems,  was  a  fon  of  the  author, 
together  with  three  curious  paffages,  which  are  cited 
in  it.  Another  Patidlt  afterwards  brought  me  a  copy 
of  the  whole  original  work,  which  confirmed  my  con- 
je6tural  emendations,  except  in  two  immaterial  fylla« 
bles,  and  except  that  the  firft  of  the  fix  couplets  in 
the  text  is  quoted  in  the  commentary  from  a  different 
work^  entitled  Panchojiddhanilca^  five  of  them  were 
compofed  by  Varaha  himfelf ;  and  the  third  chapter 
of  his  ueatife  begins  with  them. 

Before  T  produce  the  original  verfes,  it  may  be  ufe- 
ful  to  give  you  an  idea  of  the  jirya  meafure  ;  which 
will  appear  more  diftindVly  in  Latin  than  in  any  mo- 
dern language  ot  Europe  : 

Tigridas,  apros,  thoas,  tyrannos,  pcllima  monftra,  vcnemur! 
Die  hinnulus,  die  Icpus  male  quij  cgcrint  grarninivori. 

The  couplet  might  be  fo  arranged  as  to  begin  and  end 
with  the  cadence  of  an  hexameter  and  pentameter,  fix 
moments  being  interpofed  in  the  middle  of  the  long, 
and  feven  in  that  of  the  fliorc  hemiftich  : 

Thoas,  apros,  tigridas  nos  vcnemur^  pcjorcfque  tyrannos  : 
Die  tibi  ccrva,  lepus  tlbi  die  male  ^M/Vcgerit  h^rbivorps. 

Since  the  uirxa  meafure,  however,  may  be  almoft  in- 
finitely varied,  the  couplet  would  have  a  form  comr 
pletely  TJ^yw^w,  it   the  proportion  of  ^//^/foV  in^antf^ 


ON    INDIAN    CHRONOLOGY*  39I 

in    the  long   and  fliort  verfes,   were  twenty-four  to 
twenty^  inftead  of  thirty  to  twenty-feven  : 

Venor  apros  tigridafque,  etj  peflima  monflra,  tyrannos  : 
Cerva  mali  quid  agunt  herbivomfquc  lepus  ? 

I  now  d5chibit  the  fiv6  flanzas  cf  Vardha  in  Uuro^ 
peart  characters,  with  an  etchmg  of  the  two  firft, 
which  afe  the  moft  important^  in  the  original  D&iia- 
nagar't  .*  ^ 

AflefhardhaddacfhinamuttaramayananraverdhanKht'hadyaii 
Nunan  cadachidafidyenoaan  purva  faflrefhit. 
Sampratam  ayanan  favituh  carcatacadyan  mrigaditafch^nyat  X 
Uftabhave  vicritih  pratyaclhapericfhanair  vyaftih, 
Durall'hachihnavedy  adtidaye*ftamaye*piva  fahafranfoh, 
Ch'hayapravefanirgamachihnairva  mekidale  mahati* 
Aprapya  macaramarco  viiiivrittolianti  feparan  yamyan, 
CarcitaGamafanprapto  viftivrittafchottaran  faiftdrin. 
Uttaramayanamatitya  vyavrittali  cfhemafafya  vriddhicarah, 
Pracritift'hafchapyevan  vicritigatirbhayacridufhnanfuh. 

Of  the  five  couplets  thus  exhibited,  the  following 
cfanflation  is  moft  fcrupuloufly  literal : 

•*  Certainly  the  fonthern  folftice  was  once  in  the 
middle  of  AJleJha  ;  the  northern  in  the  fifft  degree  of 
Dhanjhfha^  by  what  is  recorded  in  foi'mer  Sajlras\ 
At  prefent,  one  folftice  is  in  the  degree  of  Car* 
*^  cata^  and  the  other  in  the  firft  of  Macara.  That 
«*  which  i$  recorded  not   appearing,  a  change  mujt 

Cc3 


(C 
4C 


r 


392  A    SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE  ESSAY 

"  have  happened;  and  the  proof  arifes  from  ocular 
"  demonftrations ;  that  is,  by  obferving  the  remote 
**  objed  and  its  marks  at  the  rifing  or  i'etting  of  the 
•'  fun,  or  by  the  marks  in  a  large  graduated  circle, 
of  the  (hadow's  ingrefs  and  egrefs.  The  fun,  by 
turning  back  without  having  reached  Macara^  de- 
ftroys  the  fouth  and  the  weft;  by  turning  back 
wiihoyt  having  reached  Carcala,  the  north  and 
eaft.  By  returning  when  he  has  juft  pafled  the 
*•  winter  folftitial  point,  he  makes  wealth  lecure  and 
"  grain  abundant,  fince  he  moves  thus  according  to 
•^  nature ;  but  the  fun,  by  moving  unnaturally,  ex* 
*•  cites  terror.'* 

Now  the  Hindu  aftronomers  agree,  that  the  ift  of 
January  1700,  was  in  the  year  4891  of  the  CaViyuga^ 
or  \ki€vc  fourth  period  ^  at  the  beginning  of  which,  thcf 
fay,  the  equinoftial  points  were  in  the  firft  degrees  (m 
Mejha  and  Tula ;  but  they  are  alfo  of  opinion,  that 
the  veinal  equinox  ofcillates  from  the  third  of  Mina  10 
the  uventy-feventh  of  Me/ha,  and  back  again  in^zoo 
years,  which  they  divide  into  four  padas^  anoconle- 
quently  that  it  moves  in  the  two  intermediate  padas 
trom  the  firft  to  the  twenty- feventh  oiMeJha  and  back 
again  in  3600  years;  the  colure  cutting  their  ecliptic 
in  the  firft  of  Mtjlia,  which  coincides  with  the  firft 
of  Jifwin^  at  the  beginning  of  every  fuch  ofcilla- 
tory  period.  Varaha,  furnamed  Mthira^  or  the  Sun, 
from  his  knowledge  of  aflronomy,  and  ufually  diftin- 
guifhed  by  the  title  of  Acharya^  or  teacher  of  the 
Veda^  lived,  confeiTedly,  when  the  Caliyuga  was  far 
advanced  ;  and,  fince  by  adtual  obfervation  he  found 
the  folftitial  points  in  the  firft  degrees  of  Carcata  and 
Macaray  the  equinoftial  points  were  at  the  fame  time 
in  the  firft  of  Mejfia  and  Tula;  he  lived,  therefore,  in 
the  year  3600  of  the  fourth  Indian  period,  or  1291 
years  before  the  ift  of  January  1790,  that  is,  about  the 
year  499  of  our  era.     This  date  correfponds  with  the 


ON    INDIAN   GHHONOtOOr,  Jjj 

ayananfay  or  preceffion,  calculated  by  the  rule  of  the 
Surya  Siddhanta  y  for  19°  21^  54^' would  be  the  pre- 
ceffion of  the  equinox  in  129 1  years,  according  to  the 
Hindu  computation  of  54^'  annually,  which  gives  us 
the  original  of  the  Indian  Zodiac  nearly;  but,  by 
^ewton^s  demonftrations,  which  agree  as  well  with  the 
phenomena  as  the  varying  denfity  of  our  earth  will 
admit,  the  equinox  recedes  about  50''  every  year,  and 
has  receded  1 7°  55'  50''  fince  the  time  of  Faraha ; 
which  gives  us  more  nearly  in  our  own  fpherc  the  firft 
degree  of  Me/ha  in  that  of  the  Hindus.  By  the  ob- 
fervation  recorded  in  older  Saftras^  the  equinox  had  * 
gone  back  23°  20';  or  about  1680  years  had  intervened 
between  the  age  of  the  Muni  znd  that  of  the  modern 
aftronomer  :  the  former  obfervation,  therefore,  muft 
have  been  made  about  2971  years  before  the  ift  of 
January  1790;  that  is,  11 81  before  Chrift. 

We  come  now  to  the  Commentary,  which  contains 
information  of  the  greateft  importance.  By  former 
Sajiras  are  meant,  fays  Bhattotpalaj  the  books  of 
Parafara  and  of  other  Munis ;  and  be  then  cites 
from  the  Parqfari  Sinhita  the  following  paffage,  which 
is  in  modulated  profe,  and  in  a,  ftyle  much  refembling 
that  of  the  Fedas : 

Sravijhtadyat  paufhnardhantan  charah  fifiro;  va- 
fantah  paufhnardhat  rohinyantan;  faumyadvadafla- 
(hardhantan  grilhmah;  pravri*  dallefhardhat  haftan- 
tan;  chitradyat  jye(ht*hardhantan.  far^t;  hcmanto 
jyelht'hardhat  vaiflmavantan. 

"  The  feafon  of  Siftra  is  from  the  firft  of  DA^- 
nijhfha  to  the  middle  of  Revati ;  that  of  Fqfanta 
from  the  middle  of  Revati  to  the  end  of  Rphini ; 
that  of  Grijhma  from  the  beginning  of  Mrigajiras 
to  the  middle  of  Afle/hai  that  ot  Ferf^a  firom 
the  middle  q{  AJleJha  to  the  end  of  Hafta\  that 

C  C4 


394  A  SUPPLEMENT  TO  THE  ESSAV 

"  o(  SaraJ  from  the  firfl:  of  Chitra  to  the  middle  of 
"  Jyejht'ha\  that  of  Hemania  from  the  middle  of 
"  Jytjhfha  to  the  end  of  Sravanay 

This  account  of  the  fix  Ind'iaH  feafons,  each  of 
which  is  co-extenfive  with  two  figns»  or  four  lunar 
ftations  and  a  half,  places  the  ibiftitial  points,  as  Vom 
raha  has  afferted,  in  the  firll  degree  of  DJiamJhfhdj 
and  the  middle,  or  6^  40',  of  Aflejha^  while  the 
cquinodtial  points  were  in  the  tenth  dcgvct  o{  Bharani 
and  3°  20'  of  Fifai^ha ;  but,  in  the  time  of  Faraha^ 
the  folftitial  colore  palled  through  the  tenth  degree 
of  Punarva/u  and  3®  20'  of  Uttarajiara,  while  the 
equinodial  colure  cut  the  IlinJzi  ecliptic  in  the  fuft'of 
jifwhii  and  6°  40'  of  Chitra^  or  the  Yoga  and  only 
Itar  of  that  manfion,  whicli,  by  the  way,  is  indu* 
bitably  the  Spike  of  the  Virgin,  from  the  known 
longitude  of  which  all  other  points  in  the  iTt^an 
Zodiac  may  be  computed.  It  cannot  efcape  notice, 
that  Parafara  does  not  ufe  in  this  paflage  the  phrale 
at  prefetitj  which  occurs  in  the  text  of  Vardha ;  fo 
that  the  places  of  the  coliires  might  have  been  afcer* 
tained  before  his  time,  and  a  confiderable  charfge 
might  have  happened  in  their  true  pofition  without 
any  change  in  the  phrafes  by  which  the  feafons  were 
diftinguKhed,  as  our  popular  language  in  aftronomy 
remains  unahered,  though  the  Zodiacal  afterifmsarc. 
now  removed  a  whole  fign  from  the  places  where  they 
have  left  their  names.  It  is  manifeft,  nevcrthelcfs, 
that  Parafara  muft  have  written  within  twelve  centu^ 
ries  before  the  beginning  of  our  era;  and  that  fingle 
fadt,  as  we  (hall  prefcntly  fliow,  leads  to  very  momen- 
tous confequences  in  regard  to  the  fyftem  of  bidian 
hiftory  and  literature. 

On  the  comparifon  which  might  cafily  be  made 
between  the  colurcs  of  Parafara  and  thofe  acribed  by 


ON   INDIAN  CHRONOLOGY.  395 

Eiidoxus  to  Chiron^  the  fuppofed  affiftant  and  inftruc- 
tor  of  the  Argonauts^  I  fliall  fay  very  little  ;  becaufe 
the  whole  Argonautic  ftoiry  (which  neither  was,  ac* 
cording  to  Herodotus^  nor,  indeed,  could  have  been 
originally  Grecian)  appears,  even  when  ftripped  of  its 
poetical  and  fabulous  ornaments,  extremely  difput- 
able ;  and  whether  it  was  founded  on  a  league  of  the 
Helhdian  princes  and  ftates  for  the  purpofe  of  check* 
ing,  on  a  favourable  opportunity,  the  overgrown  power 
of  Egypt ^  or  with  a  view  to  fecure  the  commerce  of 
the  Eiixhie  and  appropriate  the  wealth  of  Colchis;  or, us 
I  am  difpofed  10  believe,  on  an  emigration  from  Africa 
and  Afiu  of  that  adventurous  race,  who  had  firft  been 
eftablifhed  in  Chaldean  whatever,  in  (hort  gave  rife 
to  the  fable,  which  the  old  poets  have  fo  richly  em- 
beUifhed,  and  theoldhiftorians  havefo  inconfiderably 
adopted,  it  feems  to  me  very  clear,  even  on  the  piin- 
ciples  of  Newtoriy  and  on  the  fame  authorities  to  wh,ich 
he  refers,  that  the  voyage  of  the  ArgonaiUs  muft  have 
preceded  the  year  in  which  his  calculations  led  him  to 
place  it.  Battus  built  Cyrene^  fays  our  great  philofo- 
pher,  on  the  fcite  of  Irafa^  the  city  of  AnLeus^  in  the 
year  633  before  Chrij[l ;  yet  he  foon  afterwards  calls 
EuripyhiSy  with  whom  xht  Argonauts  had  a  conference, 
king  of  Cyrene;  and  in  both  paflages  he  cites  Pitidar^ 
whom  I  acknowledge  to  have  been  the  mod  learned, 
as  well  as  the  fublimeft  of  poets.  Now,  if  I  unde^- 
ft.ind  Pindar  (which  1  will  not  afFert,  and  1  neither 
pofTefs  nor  rememl')er  at  prefent  the  Scholia^  which  I 
formerly  perufed)  the  fourth  Pythian  Ode  begins  with* 
a  rhort  panegyric  on  Arcejilas  of  Cyrene;  '*  where,^* 
fays  the  bard,  **  the  prieftefs,  who  fat  near  the  golden 
**  eagles  oi  Jove,  prophelied  of  old,  when  Apollo  was 
**  not  abfent  from  his  manfion,  that  Battus^  the  colo- 
*'  nizer  of  fruitful  Lyhia,  having  juft  left  the  facred 
"  ifle  (Thera)  (hould  build  a  city  excelling  in  cars/ 
**  on  the  fplendid  breaft  of  earth,  and,  with  the  Je^ 
^^  venteetith  generation,  fliould  refer  to  himfelf  the 
'*  Therean  prediftion  of  Medea  whicfi  that  princefs  of 
•*  the  Cokhians,  that  impetuous  daughter  of  Metes ^ 


396  A   M'PPl.KMKNr    TO   THt    F.SSAY 

"  brcathctl  from  her  immortal  moulh,  and  thus  delir 
«*  vercd  ro  the  h:ilf  divine  mariners  of  the  warrior 
"  JujinS^  From  ilii-  introditciion  to  the  nobleft  and. 
moft  animated  of  the  ylr^'-nantic  poems,  it  appears 
that///'/i.r//  i'mvh'ie ^rueratmus  had  inicrvened  between 
the  voyage  of  Jajou  and  tlic  emigration  of  Batius; 
fo  iliat,  conliticrin«i  //;/■' v  »:\.ncraiions  as  equal  to  an 
kum/rcJ,  or  *///  /:nf/i/n\I  in: J  htaity  years,  which  New^ 
t-jti  admits  to  be  the  (uecuin  mode  of  computing 
them,  we  mull  alfo  j>lace  i!iat  voyage  at  lcaft^r<?  or^* 
huHihcil  yrtit s  bctore  the  time  fixed  by  JSewion  him- 
felf,  according  to  his  own  computation,  for  the  build- 
ing of  Cyrcfu  ',  that  is,  fuToi  or  tivelve  hundred  and 
tit'ifix  three,  years  belore  i'hnjl:  an  age  very  near  on 
a  medium  to  that  of  Pur'aliira.  It  the  poet  means  af- 
lerwards  to  fay,  as  1  underftand  him,  that  Arcejilas^ 
his  contemporary,  was  the  ev^hth  in  defcent  from  BaU 
tns,  we  Ihall  nearly  draw  the  fame  conclufion,  without 
haviri};  recourfe  to  the  unnatural  reckoning  oi  thirty'- 
three  ox  forty  years  to  a  generation ;  for  Pindar  was 
forty  years  old  when  the  Perfians^  having  crofled  the 
Ileilrlpfjuty  were  nobly  refifled  at  Thermopyhe^  and 
glorioufly  defeated  at  Sahnms.  He  was  born,  there- 
fore, abou:  the  lixty-fifrli  Ohminad^  or  five  hundred 
and  twenty  years  before  our  era;  fo  that,  by  allowing 
more  naturally  y/u;  ox  /even  hum! red  years  to  twenty^ 
three  generations,  we  may  at  a  medium  place  the 
voyage  of  Jiti'm  about  one  thoufand  one  hundred  and 
fevcnty  years  before  our  Saviour,  or  about /br/y-jfo^ 
years  before  the  beginning  of  the  Neictoriiun  chro- 
nology. 

The  defcription  of  the  old  colures  by  Eudoxus^  if 
we  implicitly  rely  on  his  teftimony  and  on  that  of /fi^- 
pirehns^  who  was,  indifputably,  a  great  aftronomer 
for  the  age  in  which  he  lived,  affords,  I  allow,  fuffici-^ 
enc  evidence  of  fome  rude  obfervation  about  937 
years  betbre  the  Chnjllan  epoch ;  and,  if  the  car- 
dinal points  had  receded  from  thofc  colures  36®  29 


ON  INDIAN  CHRONOLOGY,  397 

10''  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  1690,  and  37^  52' 
30''  on  the  fifft  of  January  in  the  prefent  year,  they 
rauft  have  gone  back  3°  23'  20''  between  the  obferva- 
tion  implied  by  Par  afar  a  and  that  recorded  by  Eu- 
doxus ;    or,    in  other  words,    224  years  muft  have 
elapfed  between  the  two  obfervations.     But  this  dif- 
quifition  having  little  relation  to  our  principal  fubjed:, 
1  proceed  to  the  laft  couplets  of  our  Indian  aftronomer 
Varaha  Mz/mT?,  which,  although  merely  aftrological, 
and  confequently  abfurd,  will  give  occalion  to  remarks 
of  no  fmall  importance.     They  imply,  that  when  the 
folftices  are  not  in  the  firll,  degrees  of  Carcata  and 
Macara^  the  motion  of  the  fun  is  contrary  to  nature  ; 
and  being  caufed,  as  the  commentator  intimates,  by 
fome  utpata,  or  preternatural  agency,  muft  neceflarily 
be  produAive  of  misfortune ;    and    this    vain  idea 
feems  to  indicate  a  very  fuperficial  knowledge  even  of 
the  fyftem  which  VaJmra  undertook  to  explain ;  but 
he  might  have  adopted  it  folely  as  a  religious  tenet, 
on  the  authority  of  Garga^  a  prieft  of  eminent  lanc- 
tity,  who  exprelles  the  fame  wild  notion  in  the  follow- 
ing couplet : 

Yada  nivertate'praptah  fravifhtamuttarayane, 
Afleflian  dacftiine'praptaftadavidyanmahadbhayaa. 

^'  When  the  fun  returns,  not  having  reached  Dha^ 
niflifha  in  the  northern  folftice,  or  not  -having 
reached  AJleJha  in  the  fouthern,  then  let  a  man 
feel  great  apprehenfion  of  danger.' 


ti • 


Parafara  himfelf  entertained  a  fimilar  opinion, 
that  any  irregularity  in  the  folftices  would  indicate 
approaching  calamity :  Yadaprapto  vaijhnavantumy 
fays  he,  udaninarge  prepadyate  dacjhine  ajlejhum  va 
mahabhayaya  ;  that  is,  **  When,  having  reached  the 
**  end  of  Sravana^  in  the  northern  path,  or  half  of 
**  Aflejha  in  the  fouthern,  he  ftill  advances,  it  is  a 
'f  caufe  of  great  f^ar/'  .  This  notion,  pofl^blyy  had 


398  A  SUPPLKMEKT  TO  THE   ESSAY 

its  rife  before  the  regular  preceffion  of  the  cardi- 
nal points  had  been  obferved;  but  we  may  alfo  re- 
mark, that  foaie  of  the  hinar  manfions  were  confidered 
as  inaufpicious,  and  others  as  fortunate ;  thus  Menu^ 
the  firft  Indian  lawgiver,  ordains,  that  certain  rites 
fliall  be  performed  under  the  influence  of  a  happy 
Nacjhatra ;  and,  where  he  forbids  any  female  name 
to  be  taken  from  a  conftellation,  the  mod  learned 
commentator  gives  Atdra  and  Revatt  as  exampks 
of  ill-omened  names,  appearing  by  deiign  to  iklp 
over  others  that  muft  firft  have  occurred  to  him. 
Whether  Dhanijlinm  and  jijlejha  were  inaufpicious 
or  profpcrous,  I  have  not  learned ;  but,  whatever 
might  be  the  ground  of  FarahcCz  aftrological  rule,  we 
may  colleft  from  his  aftronomy,  which  was  grounded 
on  obfervation,  that  the  folftice  had  receded  at  Itafi 
23^  zd  between  his  time  and  that  of  Parajata  ;  for, 
though  it  refers  its  poficion  to  ihtfgns^  inftead  of  the 
lunar  manfions^  yet  all  the  Pandits  with  whom  I  have 
converfcd  on  the  fubjccl,  unanimoufly  aflcrt,  that 
the  firft  degrees  of  MeJIia  and  Afjoini  are  coincident. 
Since  the  two  ancient  lages  name  only  the  lunar  afte- 
rifms,  it  is  probable  that  the  folar  divifion  of  the? 
Zodiac  into  twelve  figns  was  not  generally  ufed  in 
their  days;  and  we  know  from  the  comment  on  the 
8urya  S'uidlianta^  that  the  lunar  month,  by  which  all 
religious  ceremonies  are  ftill  regulated,  was  in  ufe  be- 
fore the  lolar.  When  M.  Badly  afks  "  Why  the 
*^  Hindus  eftablifhed  the  beginning  of  the  precefSon, 
*'  according  to  their  ideas  ot  it,  in  the  year  of  Chr'^L 
*^  429  ?*'  to  which  his  calculations  alfo  had  led  him,  we 
aurwer,  Becaufe  in  thu  year  the  vernal  equinox  was 
found  by  obfervation  in  the  origin  of  their  ecliptlcj 
and  fince  they  were  of  opinion  that  it  muft  have  Had 
the  fame  pofition  in  the  firft  year  of  the  Caliyugay  they 
were  induced  by  their  erroneous  theory  to  fix  the 
beginning  of  their  fourth  period  3600  years  before 
the  time  of  Varaha,  and  to  account  for  Parafard% 
obleivation,  by  fuppofing  an  utpatay  ox  j^rodigy. 


ON    INDIAN    CHRONOLOGY.  399 

To  what  purpofe,  it  may  be  afked,  have  we  afcer- 
tainedthe  age  of  Mumyf  Who  was  Parafara?  Who 
was  Garga?  With  whom  were  they  contemporary, 
or  with  whofe  age  may  theirs  be  compared  ?  What 
light  will  thefe  inquiries  throw  on  the  hiftory  of  India 
or  of  mankind  ?  1  am  happy  in  being  able  to  anfwer 
thofe  queftions  with  confidence  and  precifion. 

All  the  Brahmens  agree,  that  only  one  Parafara  is 
named  in  theii  facred  records ;  that  he  compofed  the 
aftronomicai  book  before  cited,  and  a  law-tradl,  which 
is  now  in  my  poffeffion  ;  that  he  was  the  grandfon  of 
Vafijht'ha,  another  aftronomer  and  legiflator,  whofe 
works  are  ftill  extant,,  and  who  was  the  preceptor  of 
Rama,  king  of  Ayodhya  ;  that  he  was  the  father  of 
Vyafa^  by  whom  the  Vedas  were  arranged  in  the  form 
which   they  now  bear,  and   whom    Crtjhna    himfeif 
names  with  exalted  praife  in  the  Gita ;  fo  that,  by  the 
admiffion  of  the   Pundits  themfelves,  we  find  only 
three  generations  between  two  of  the  Ramas,  whom 
they  confider  as  incarnate  portions  of  the  divinity ;  and 
Parafara  might  have  lived  till  the  beginning  of  the 
Caliyuga,  which  the  miftaken  doAririe  of  an  ofcilla- 
tion  in  .the  cardinal  points  has  compelled  the  Hindus 
to   place   1920  years  too  early.     This  error,  added 
to  their  fanciful  arrangement  of  the   four  ages,  has 
been  the  fource  of  many  abfurdities ;  for  they  infift 
that  Valmic^  whom  they  cannot  but  allow  to  have  been 
contemporary  with  Ramachandra^  lived  in  the  age  of 
Fyafa^  who  confulted  him  on  the  compofition  of  the 
Mahahharat^  and  who  was  perfonally  known  to  Balat^ 
rama^  the  brother  of  Crifkna.     When  a  very  learned 
Brahmen  had  repeated  to  me  in  agreeable  ftory  of  a 
converfation  between  Valmic  and  Vyqfay  I  exprefled 
my  furprize  at  an  interview  between  two  bards,  whofe. 
ages  were  feparated  by  a  period  of  864,000  years ; 
but  he  foon  reconciled  himfeif  to  fo  monftrous  an 
anachrpnifm^  by  obferving  that  the  longevity  of  the 


400  A    SUPPLKMENT    TO    THE    ESSAY 

Mwih  Wcis  preternatural,  and  that  no  limit  could  be. 
Tec  :o  Divine  power.     By  the  fame  recourfc  to  mira- 
cles or  to  prophefy;  he  would  have  anlwcred  another 
objcAion  equally  fatal  to  his  chronological  fyllcm.     It 
is  agreed  by  all,  that  the  lawyer  Yci^yaivalcya  was  an 
attendant  on  the  court  of  Janaca^  whofe   daughter 
S'lta   was  the  conftant   but  unfonunate  wife  of  the 
great  liama^  the  hero  of  Vabnic^%  poem ;  but   that 
lawyer  himfelf,  at  the  verj'  opening  of  his  work,  which 
now  lies  before  me,  names  both  Parafura  and  Vyafa 
among  twenty  authors,  whofe  trafts  form  the  body  of 
original  Indian  law.     By  the  way,  fince  P^afijhfha  is 
more  than  once  named  in  the  Manavl/lnihilaj  we.may 
be  certain  that  the  laws  afcribed  to  Memi^   in  what- 
ever  age   they  might  have  been  firft  promulgated, 
could  not  have  received  the  form  in  which  we  now 
fee  them,  above  three  thoufaml  years  ago.     The  age 
and   fundions  of  Garga    lead    to  confequences  yet 
more  intcrefting:  he  was  confclfedly  the/»wro/////7,  or 
officiating  pricfl,  of  Cnjhua  himfelf,  who,  when  only 
a  herdfman's  boy   at  Slai'hira^  revealed   his  divine 
charaacrto  Garg.i^  hv  r;innip.g  to  him  with  more  than 
mortal  benignity  0:1  i:is  countenance,  when  the  prieft 
had   invoked  i\cira\i:'}.     His  daughter  was  eminent 
for  her  piety   :ind    her    l/arning,  and    the   Rrahmem 
admit,  vvithouL    conlit!.^iir>g  the  confequencc  of  their 
admifiion,    t!iat  ihc   is  thus  addrefled    in  the  Veda 
irfolt  :     \ata    ;/;"*//;•::•.;;;  no  i\7    fiimopiy    Gurgi^    ejka 
i;diixo    (iwiwiirdluiniiii   iripat'i^  d\u   va   bhwmn   tapatl^ 
hliionyd  Jubhi\:u  tapah,   loran  lijfati^  antaran  tafaty^ 
anautiran  ta^:ii':  \    or,  "  That  Sun,  O  daughter  of 
**   Garga^  th.m  which  nothing  is  higher,  to  which  no- 
*'  thing  is  equal,  enlightens  the  fummit  of  the  iky; 
with  the  iky  enlightens  the  earth ;  with  the  earth 
enlightens  riie  lower  worlds  ;  enlightens  the  higher 
worid?,  enlightens  other  worlds  ;   it  enlightens  the 
**  breart,  er.]:c!:htens  all  befides  the  breall.'*— .From 
tiielc  fads,  wiiich  rh:  Hrohmens  cannot  deny,  and  from 


ON    INDIAN    CHRONOLOGY.  4OI 

thefe  conccflions,  which  they  unanimoufly  make,  we 
may  reafonably  infer  that,  if  Vyafa  was  not. the  com- 
pofer  of  the  Vedas^  he  added  at  leaft  fomething  of  his 
own  to  the  fcattered  fragments  of  a  more  ancient  work, 
or  perhaps  to  the  loofe  traditions  which  he  had  col- 
ledled  ;  but   whatever  be  the  comparative   antiquity 
of  the  Hindu  fcriptures,  we  may  fafely  conclude  that 
the  Mofaic  and  /j^^/'^w  chronologies  are  perfeftly  con- 
liTteht ;  that  MenUj  fon  of  Brahma  v^diS  the  Adima^  or 
Jf^  created  mortal,  and  confequently  our  Adam  ;  that 
Menu^  child  of  the  Sun,  was  preferved   W\\h /even 
others  in  a  hahitra,  or  capacious  ark,  from  an  univerfal 
deluge,  and  muft  therefore  be  our  Noah ;  that  Hira- 
nyacajipu^  the  giant  with  a  golden  axe^   and  Vali^  or 
Balt^  were  impious  and  arrogant  monarchs,  and  moft 
probably  our  Nimrod  and  Belus  y  that  the  three  RamaSy 
two  of  whom  were  invincible  warriors,  and  the  third 
not  only  valiant  in  war  but  the  patron  of  Agriculture 
and  wine^  which  derives  an  epithet  from  his  name, 
were  different  reprefentations  of  the  Grecian  Bacchus^ 
and  either  the  Rama  of  fcripture,  or  his  colony  perfoni- 
fied,   or  the  Sun  firft  adored  by  his  idolatrous  family ; 
thataconfiderable  emigration  from  Chaldeainto Greece j 
Italy,  and  India,  happened  about  twelve  centuries  be- 
fore the  birth  of  our  Saviour;  that  Sacya,  or  Sifak, 
about  two  hundred  years  after  Vy^fa^  either  in  perfon 
or  by  a  colony  from  Egypt,  imported  into  this  country 
the  mild  herefy  of  the  ancient  Bauddhas ;  and  that  the 
dawn  of  true  Indian  hiftory  a.ppears  only  three  or  four 
centuries  brfore  the  Chriftian  era,  the  preceding  ages 
being  clouded  by  allegory  or  fable. 

As  afpecimen  of  that  fabling  and  allegorizing  {pi- 
nt which  has  ever  induced  the  Brahmens  to  diiguife 
their  whole  fyftem  of  hiftory,  philofophy,  and  religion, 
I  produce  a  paflage  from  the  jBZt^^^i;^/,  which,  Sow-' 
ever  ftrange  and  ridiculous,  is  very  curious  initfelf, 
and  clofely  conncdtcd  with  the  fubjedt  of  this  cflay. 


• 


4C:i  A    SUPPLEMENT    TO    THE    ESSAY 

It  is  taken  from  the  fifth  Scandha^  or  feftion,  which 
is  written  in  modulated  profe.     "There  are  fome,** 
fays  the  Iruiian  author,  **  who,  for  the  purpoft  of  me- 
•*  ditating  intcnfely  on  the  holy  fon  of  Vqfudeva^  ima- 
*^  gine  yon  celeftial  fphere  to  reprcfent  the  figure  of 
"  that  aquatic  animal  which  we  call  Sifumara :  its  head 
**  being  turned  downwards,  and  its  body  bent  in  a 
^*  circle,  they  conceive  Dhruva,  or  the  pole-ftar,  to 
"  be  fixed  on  the  point  of  its  tailj  on  the  middle 
**  part  of  the  tail  they  fee  four  ftars,  Prejapatiy  jfgm^ 
"  Indta^  Dhermay  and  on  its  bafe  two  others,   bhairi 
"  and  Vidhatri :  on  its  rump  are  the  SeftarJkiSy  or 
"  feven  flars  of  the  SacatUy  or  fVain;  on  its  back 
the  path  of  the  Sun,  called  jijaviChi^  or  the  Series 
of  Kids ;  on  its  belly  the  Ganga  of  the  iky  :  Punar- 
**  vafu  and  Pnjhya  gleam  refpetlively  on  its  right  and 
left  haunches  ^  Ardra  and  AJleJha  on  its  right  and  left 
feet,  or  Jim  ;  Abhijit  and  Uttarajkad*ha  in  its  right 
**  and  left  noftrils  j  Sravana  and  Purvajhad^ha  ip  ic 
*^  right  and  left  eyes ;  Dhani/hfha  and  Mula  on  iu 
•*  right  and  left  ears.     Eight  conftellations,  belonging 
*'  to  the   fummer  folftice,  Magha^  Purvaf  haJgunh 
*'   Vttarafhalgum^.  Haftuj    Chitra^   Swati^  Vifacha^ 
*^  Anuradha^  may  be  conceived  in  the  ribs  of  its  left 
*'  fide;  and  as  many  afterifms,  connefted  with  the  win- 
"  ter  folftice,  Mriguftras^  Rohini^  Critticay  BharanijAf 
*iviniy  Revaij^  Vitarahhadra^ada^  Purvabhadrapada% 
may  be  imagined  on  the  ribs  of  its  right  fide  m  an 
**  inverfe  order.  l..ct&//^/^^//15^/andJy^^'A^  be  placed 
"  on  its  right  and  left  Ihoulders.     In  its  upper  jaw  is 
"  Agajlya ;  in  its  lower  llavia  ;  in  its  mouth  the  pla- 
"  net  Mangala ;    in  its   part  of  generation,  Sanaif- 
**  chara\  on  its  hump,  Prihafpaii-y  in  its  brernl, -the 
*'  Sun ;  in  its  heart,  Narayau ;  m  its  front,  the  Moon ; 
**  in  its  navel,  Vfanas ;  on  its  two  nipples,  the  twoAf' 
•■  ivinas ;  in  its  afcending  and  defcending  breaths, 
•^  Biulha  'y  on  its  throat,  Rahu ;  in  all  its  limbs,  Cetus^ 
'^  or  comets  \  and  in  its  hair,  or  briftles,  the  whole 


•• 


(« 


ON  INDIAN  CHRONOLOGY.  403 

^^  multitude  of  ftars."  It  is  neceffary  to  remark,  that, 
although  the  ftfurtiara  be  generally  defcribed  as  the 
fea-hog  or  porpoifey  which  we  frequently  have  feen 
playing  in  the  Ganges^  yet  Jufmar^  which  feems  de- 
rived from  the  Sanfcrify  means  in  Perfian  a  large 
lizard.  The  paflage  juft  exhibited  may  neverthe- 
lefs  relate  to  an  animal  of  the  cetaceous  order,  and 
poffibly  to  the  dolphin  of  the  antients.  Before  I  leave 
the  fphere  of  the  Hindusy  I  cannot  help  mentioning  a 
Angular  fa6t : — In  the  Sanfcrit  language,  RicJIia  means 
a  coTiftellation  and  a  beary  fo  that  Maharcjha  may  de- 
note either  a  great  hear  or  a  great  afterifm.  i^tymo- 
logifts  may,  perhaps,  derive  the  Megas  arSos  of  the 
Gteeks  from  an  Indian  compound  ill  underftood;  but 
I  will  only  obferve,  with  the  wild  Americany  that  a 
bear  with  a  very  long  tail  could  never  have  occurred 
to  the  imagination  of  any ,  one  who  had  fecn  the  ani- 
mal. 1  may  b?  permitted  to  add,  on  the  fubjedt  of 
the  Indian  Zodiac,  that,  if  I  have  erred  in  a  former 
eflay,  where  the  longitude  of  the  lunar  manfions  is 
computed  from  the  firft  frar  in  our  constellation  of 
the  Ram,  I  have  been  led  into  an  error  by  the  very 
learned  and  ingenious  M.  jB^/7/y,  who  relied,  I  pre- 
fume,  on  the  authority  of  M.  Le  GentiL  The  origin  of 
the  Hindu  Zodiac,  according  to  the  Surya  Siddhanta^ 
muft  be  nearly  t  19^  21'  54',  in  our  fphere,  and 
the  longitude  of  Chitray  or  the  Spike,  muft  of  courfe 
be  ^99°  21^  54''  from  the  vernal  equinox ;  but  fince 
it  is  difficult  by  that  computation  to  arrange  the 
twenty-feven  manfions  and  their  feveral  ftars,  as  tjbcy 
are  delineated  and  enumerated  in  the  Retnamahy  I  . 
muft  for  the  prefent  fuppofe  with  M.  Baillyy  that  the 
Zodiac  oi  the  Hindus  had  two  origins,  one  conftant 
and  the  other  variable;  apd  a  farther  inquiry  into  the 
fubjeft  muft  be  referved  for  a  feafon  of  retirement 
and  leifure,      .  *  ^      ^^  ^i^ 

Vol.  II.  D  d 


r.4i>s. 


./.r/:i.».iysi. 


,^KR^0lsJi|p|j^. 


^^Ipsrlflifijsi 


tXYJII. 
bi\  THE  SPIKENARD  OF  THE  ANTIENTS. 


JBY    the    t»RESlI>E^T; 


IT   is  painful  to  meet  perpetiially  with  word^  that 
convey  no  diftind  ideas ;  and  a  natural  defire  of 
avoiding  that  pain  excites  us  often  to  make  inquiries, 
the  refult  of  which  can  have  no  other  ufe  than  to  give 
us  clear  conceptions.     Ignorance  is  to  the  mind  what 
extreme  darknefs  is  to  the  nerves :    both  caufe    an 
lineafy  fenfation  ;  arid  we  naturally  love  knowledge 
ks  we  love  light,  even  when  we  have  no  defign  of  ap- 
plying either  to  a  purpofe  effentially  ufeful.     This  is 
intended  as  an   apology  for  the  pains   which  have 
been  taken    to  procure  a  determinate  anfwer  to  a 
queftron  of  no  apparent  utility,  .but  which  ought  to 
be  readily  anfwered  in  htdia :  "  What  is  Indian  Spike- 
nard ?"  All  agree  that  it  is  an  odoitferous  plant,  the 
beft  fort  of  which,  according  to  Ptolemy^  grew  about. 
tiangamritica  or  Rangamati^   and  on  the  borders  of 
the  country  now  called  Butan.     It  is  mentioned  by 
Diofcoridesy  whofe  work  I  have  not  in  my  poffeffion  i 
but  his  defcription  of  it  muft  be  very  impetfed,  fince 
heither  Litmaus  nor  any  of  his  difciples  ptetcnd  to 
clafs  it  with  ettAinty;  aiid,   in  the  lateft  tjoAwical 
work  that  we.  haVe  received  from  Europe^  it  is  mark- 
ed as  unknown.    I  had  no  doubt,  before  I  was  per- 
fonally  acquainted  with  Koenigy  that  he  had  aicer- 
tained  it  i  but  he  a^red  m&that  he  knew  itot  whit  -^ 
the  Greek  writers  meant  by  the  Aard  of  India  ^^  hdv^ 
had  found,  indeed,  and  ddcribed  a  fixth  fpecies  df*^ 
the  hardus,  which  is  called  Indian  in  the  SupptemexK 

Dd2 


»r*^, 


406  ON    THE    SPIKENARD 

to  Linfid^us  i  but  the  fianlus  is  a  grafs  which,  though 
it  bear  a  fpikcy  no  man  ever  fuppofed  to  be  the  true 
Spikenard,  which  the  great  botanical  philofopher  him- 
felf  was  inclined  to  think  a  ipecies  o{  Andropogtm^zsA 
places  in  his  Materia  Medica^  but  with  an  expreffion 
of  doubt,  among  his  polygamous  plants.  Since  the 
death  of  Koenig  I  have  confulted  everj'  botanift  and 
phyfician  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  on  the  fub- 
jcft  before  us ;  but  all  have  confeflcd  without  refervc, 
diough  not  without  fomc  regret,  that  they  were  igno- 
rant what  was  meant  by  the  Indian  Spikenard. 

fn  order  to  procure  information  from  the  learned 
natives,  it  was  nccellary  to  know  the  name  of  the  plant 
in  fome  JUiatic  language.  The  very  word  nard  oc- 
curs in  the  Song  of  Solomon ;  but  the  fiame  and  the 
thing  were  both  exotic :  the  Hebrew  lexicographers 
imagine  both  to  be  Indian  ;  but  the  word  is  in  truth 
Perftanj  and  occurs  in  the  following  diftich  of  an  old 
poet : 

An  chu  bikhcft,  in  chu  nardeA^  an  chu  fhakeft,  In  chn  bar, 
An  chu  bikhi  pa^dareft,  in  chu  nardi  payidar. 

•  It  is  not  eafy  to  determine  in  this  couplet,  whether 
vurd  means  ihtjfem^  or,  as  y//yw  explains  it,  the //M; 
but  it  is  manifeftly  a  part  of  a  vegetable,  and  neither 
the  rooty  the  fruit,  nor  the  bumchy  which  are  all  fc* 
paratcly  named.  The  Arabs  have  borrowed  the  word 
nard  but  in  the  fenfe,  as  wc  learn  from  the  Kamisy  of 
a  compound  medical  unguent.  Whatever  it  (ignified 
in  old  Perfian^  the  Arabic  viOxAJiimluIy  which,  like 
Jiunbalahy  means  an  ear  or  Jpikey  has  long  been  fub- 
ftituted  tor  it ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that,  by 
the  Jumbid  of  India  the  Mufelmans  underftand  the 
fame  plant  with  the  nard  of  Ptolemy  and  the  Nar^ 
d'.^fiachj'Sy  or  Si^ihnard,  of  Galen;  who,  by  the  way^ 


OF    THB    ANTIENTS,  4Q7 

was  deceived  by  the  dry  fpecimens  which  he  had  feen, 
and  miftook  them  for  roots. 

A  fingular  defcription  of  the  fumhul  by  Abu*lfa%U 
who  frequently  mentions  it  as  an  ingredient  in  Indian 
perfumes,  had  for  fome  time  almoft*  convinced  me 
that  the  true  Spikenard  was  the  CetacUy  or  Pandanus 
of  our  botanifts ;  his  words  are,  Sumhul  panj  herg 
daredf  ceh  dirazii  an  dah  angojhtefiu  pahnaiy  feh^  or, 
*^  The  y?/w^tt/ has  five  leaves,  ten  fingers  long,  and 
*'  three  broad."  Now  1  well  knew  that  the  minifter 
of  Achar  was  not  a  botanift,  and  might  eafily  have 
miftaken  a  thyrfus  for  a  fingle  flower :  I  had  fcen  no 
bloiTom,  or  aflemblage  of  blolToms,  of  fuch  dimen- 
lions,  except  the  male  Cetaca  ;  and,,  though  the  Per-- 
jian  writer  defcribes  the  female  as  a  different  plant, 
by  the  'vulgar  name  Cyvruj  yet  fuch  a  miftake  might 
naturally  have  been  expeded  in  fuch  a  work :  but 
what  moft  confirmed  my  opinion,  was  tha  exquifite 
fragrance  of  the  Cetaca-iiovfev,  which  to  my  fenfe  far 
furpaffed  the  richeft  perfumes  of  Europe  or  jijia. 
Scarce  a  doubt  remained,  when  I  met  with  a  defcripr 
tion  of  the  Cetaca  by  ForJkohU  whofe  words  are  fo 
perfeftly  applicable  to  the  general  idea  which  we  arc 
apt  to  form  oi Spikenard^  that  I  give  you  a  literal  tranfla- 
tion  of  them  : — "  The  Pandanus  is  an  incomparable 
'^  plant,  and  cultivated  for  its  odour,  which  it  breathes 
^*  fo  richly,  that  one  or  two  Spikes^  in  a  fituation  ra- 
*^  ther  humid,  would  be  (ufficient  to  diffufe  an  odo- 
*^  riferous  air  for  a  long  time  through  a*  fpacious 
•^  apartment;  fo  that  the  natives  in  general  are  not 
^*  folicitous  about  the  living  plants,  but  pur  chafe  the 
^^ /pikes  at  a  great  priced  I  learned  alfo,  that  a  fra- 
grant effentiaJ  oil  was  extracted  from  the  flowers ; 
and  I  produced  ixovaBanares  zhxgt  phial  of  it,  which 
was  adulterated  with  fandal ;  but  the  very  adulteration 
convinced  me,  that  the  genuine  eflfence  muft  be  va- 
luable, from  the  great  number  of  thyrfi  that  mufl;  be 

Dd3 


408  ON    THE    SPIKEKARD 

required  in  preparing  a  fmall  quantity  of  it.  Thus 
had  I  nearly  perfuadcd  myfelf,  that  the  true  nard  was 
to  be  found  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges^  where  the 
H'mdu  women  roll  up  its  flowers  in  their  long  black 
hair  after  bathing  in  the  holy  river  ;  and  I  imagined, 
that  x\ic  predoics  alabajier-hox  mentioned  in  the  fcrip- 
ture,  and  the  /mail  onyXy  in  exchange  for  which  the 
poet  offers  to  entertain  his  friend  with  a  cajk  of  old 
wiftej  contained  an  effence  of  the  fame  kind,  though 
differing  in  its  degree  of  purity  with  the  nard  which 
I  had  procured  ;  but  an  ylrab  of  Mccca^  who  faw  in 
rny  ftudy  fome  flowers  of  the  Cetaca^  informed  me 
that  the  plant  was  extremely  common  in  Arabia^ 
where  it  was  named  Cadlii ;  and  feveral  Mahomedam 
of  rank  and  learning  have  fmce  aflbred  me,  that 
the  true  name  of  the  Indian  Sunibid  was  not  Ceiaca^ 
but  Jalamcwft.  Thii  was  important  information  :  find- 
ing, therefore,  that  the  Pandaniis  was  not  peculiar  to 
Jrl'mdvjlany  and  conl'ulcring  that  the  Sumbul  of  AbuU 
fazl  differed  from  it  in  the  precife  number  of  leaves 
on  the  thyrfus,  in  the  colour,  and  in  the  feafonof 
flowering,  though  the  length  and  breadth  correfpond^ 
ed  very  nearly,  1  abandoned  my  firft  opinion,  and  be- 
gan to  inquire  eagerly  for  the  Jatamanfi^  which  grew, 
I  was  told,  in  the  garden  of  a  learned  and  ingenious 
friend,  and  fortunately  was  then  in  bloffom.  A  frefli 
plant  was  very  foon  brought  to  me.  It  appeared  on 
infpeftion  to  be  a  moft  elegant  Cypirus  with  a  po- 
lifhed  three^-fided  culm,  an  umbella  with  three  or  four 
enfifor:n  leaflets  minutely  ferrated,  naked  proliferous 
peduncles,  crowded  fpikes,  expanded  daggers ;  and 
its  branchy  root  had  a  pungent  tafte  with  a  faint  aro- 
matic odour ;  but  no  part  of  it  bore  the  leaft  refem- 
blance  to  the  drug  known  in  Europe  by  the  appella- 
tion of  Spikenard  \  and  a  Mvfelman  phyfician  from 
I)ehll  affured  me  pofitively,  that  the  plant  was  not 
Jaiaynayift^  but  AW,  as  it  is  named  in  Arabic^  which 
the  author  of  the  Tohjatul  Mumenin  particularly  dif- 
tinguillies  from  the  Indian  Simbut.     He  produce^  on 


OF   THE   ANTIENTa.  409 

the  next  day  an  extrad  from  the  Didtionary  of  Na-» 
tural  Hiftory,  to  which  he  had  referred ;  and  I  pre- 
fent  you  with  a  tranflation  of  all  that  is  material  in  it. 


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cc 

€€ 


I.  Sud  hzs  a  roundifh  olive-ftiaped  root,  exter- 
nally black,  but  white  internally,  and  fo  fragrant  as 
to  have  obtained  in  Perfia  the  name  of  Subterranean 
Mujk  :.  its  leaf  has  fome  refemblance  to  that  of  a 
leek,  but  is  longer  and  narrower,  ftrong,  fomewhat 
rough  at  the  edges, and  tapering  to  a  point.  2.  Sum* 
bul  means  a  fpike  or  ^^ r,  and  was  called  nard  by 
•*  the  Greeks.     There  are  three  forts  of  Sumbul  or 
•*  Nardin ;  but,  when  the  wordftands  alone,  it  means 
**  the  Sumbul  oi  India  ^  which  is  an  herb  without  flower 
**  or  fruit  (he  fpeaks  of  the  drug  only)  like  the  tail 
*Vof  an  ermme,  or  of  a  fmall  weaiel,  but  not  quite  fo 
thick,  and  about  the  length  of  a  finger.   It  is  dark- 
i(h,  inclining  to  yellow,  and  very  fragrant;  it  is  » 
brought  from  Rinduftan  \  and  its  medical  virtue 
lafts  three  years.'*     It  was  eafy  to  procure  the  dry 
Jatamanflj  which  correfponded  perfectly  with  the  de- 
fcription  of  the  Sumbul ;  and  though  a  native  MufeU 
man  afterwards  gave  me  a  Perflan  paper,  written  by 
himfelf,  in  which  he  reprefents  the  Sumbul  of  India^ 
the  Sweet  Sumbul,  and  the  Jatamanfiy  as  three  different 
plants,  yet  the  authority  of  the  Tohfatul  Mumenin  is 
decifive  that  the  Sweet  Sumbul  is  only  another  denor 
mination   of  nard  ;   and  the  phyfician  who  produced 
that  authority,  brought  as  a  fpecimen  of  Sumbul, 
the  very  fame  drug^  which  my  Pandit,  who  is  alfo  a 
phyfician,  brought  as  a  fpecimen  of  the  Jatamanfi. 
A  Brahmen  of  eminent  learning  gave  me  a  parcel  of 
the  fame  fort,  and  told  me  that  it  was  ufed  in  their 
facrifices  ;  that,  when  frefh,  it  was  exquifitely  fweet, 
and  added  much  to  (h^  fcent  of  rich  efTences,  in  which 
it  was  a  principal  ii^grecl^ei^t  \  that  the  n:^erchants 
brought  it  from    the  mountainous  country  to  thjj* 
^prtU-caft  of  ^ei(!^ai\  that  ^t  w^s  tl^e  ci[itire  plant, 

Dd4 


N  ^ 


410  OK    THE   SPIKENARD 

fioc  a  part  of  it,  and  received  its  San/crif  names 
from  its  refexnblance  to  lochs  of  hair ;  «s  it  is  called 
Spikenard^  I  (uppofe,  from  its  refemblance  to  a  fpike 
when  it  is  dried,  and  not  from  the  configuration  of  its 
flowers,  which  the  Greeks,  probably,  never  examined. 
The  Verjtan  author  defcribes  the  whole  plant  as  re. 
fembling  the  tail  of  an  ermine  ^  and  the  Jatamattji, 
which  is  manifeftly  the  Spiketuird  of  our  druggifts, 
has  precifely  that  form,  confifting  of  withered  ftalks 
and  ribs  of  leaves,  cohering  in  a  bundle  of  yellowilh 
brown  capillary  fibres,  and  conflituting  a  fpike  about 
the  fize  of  a  fmall  finger.  We  may,  on  the  whole, 
be  alfurcd,  that?,  the  narJus  of  Ptolemy^  the  Indian 
Sumbul  of  the  Perjtam  and  Arahs^  the  Jatamanf%xA 
the  Hindus,  and  tlj/i^  Spiktnard  of  our  (hops,  are  one 
and  the  Qime  plant ;  but  to  what  clafs  and  genus  it 
belongs  in  the  Limufan  fyllem,  can  only  be  afcertained 
by  an  infpeftion  of  the  frelh  bloflbms.  Dr.  Patrick 
RuJfeU  who  always  communicates  with  obliging,  fa* 
cility  his  extenfive  and  accurate  knowledge,  informed 
me  by  letter,  that  "  Spikenard  is  carried  over  the  de- 
**  fcrt"  (from  India,  I  prefume)  ^^ \o  uileppo,  where 
**  it  is  ufed  in  fubftance,  mixed  with  other  perfumes, 
*^  and  worn  in  fmall  bags,  or  in  the  form  of  eflence, 
**  afid  kept  in  little  boxes  or  phials,  like  atar  of  rofes/' 
He  is  peruiaded,  and  fo  am  1,  that  the  Indian  nard 
of  the  antients  and  that  of  our  (hops,  is  one  and  the 
fame  vegetable. 

Though  diligent  refearches  have  been  made  at  my 
requefl  on  the  borders  of  Bengal  and  Behar,  yet  the 
Jaiamanji  has  not  been  found  growing  in  any  ^art  of 
the  BrUiJh  lerritories.  Mr.  Sannders,  who  met  with 
it  in  But-an^  where,  as  be  was  informed,  it  is  very 
common,  and  whence  it  is  brought  in  a  dry  flatc 
to  Rangpur,  has  no  hefitation  in  pronouncing  it  a 
fpecies  of  the  Baccharis;  and,  lince  it  is  not  pof- 
iible  that  he  could   midake  the  natural  order  an^ 


OF    THE    ANTIENTS.  4IX 

ejfeniial  character  of  the  plant,  which  he  examined, 
I  had  no  doubt  that  the  Jatamanfi  vr^s  compofit 
and  corymbiferous  with  ftamens  connedted  by  the 
anthers,  and  with  female  prolific  florets,  intermixed 
with  hermaphrodites.  The  word  Spike  was  not  ufed 
|Dy  the  antients  with  botanical  precifion,  and  the  Stachys 
itfelf  is  venicillared  with  only  two  fpecies  out  of  fif- 
teen, that  could juftify  its  generic  appellation.  I  there« 
fore  concluded  that  the  true  Sfikeinard  was  a  Bac- 
charisj  and  that,  while  the  philofopher  had  been 
fearching  for  it  to  no  purpofe, 

■    '  the  duU'fwain 

Trod  on  it  daily  with  his  clouted  Ihoon  ; 

for  the  Baccharis,  it  feems,  as  well  as  the  Conyza^  is 
called  by  the  gardeners,  Ploughman^s  Spikenard.  I 
'fufpefted,  neverthelefs,  that  the  plant  which  Mr. 
Saunders  defcribed  was  not  Jatavmnfi -^  becaufe  I 
knew  that  the  people  of  Butan  had  no  fuch  name  for 
it,  but  diftinguiOied  it  by  very  drfferem  namesjn  dif- 
ferent parts  of  their  hilly  country  :  I  knew  alfo  that 
the  Butias^  who  fet  a  greater  value  on  the  drug  than 
it  feems,  as  a  perfume,  to  merit,  were  extremely  re- 
ferred in  giving  information  concerning  it,  and  might 
be  tempted,  by  the  narrow  fpirit  of  monopoly, .  to 
miflead  an  inquirer  for  the  frelh  plant.  The  friendly 
zeal  of  Mr.  Purling  will  probably  procure  it  in  a  ftatfe 
of  vegetation ;  for,  when  he  bad  the  kindnefs,  at  my 
defire,  to  make  enquiries  for  it  among  the  Butan  n^icr- 
chants,  they  alTured  him,  that  the  living  plants  could 
not  be  obtained  without  an  order  from  their  fovereiga 
the  Devaraja^  to  whom  he  immediately  difpatched  a 
mefTenger  with  an  earneft  requeft,  that  eight  or  ten 
of  the  growing  plants  might  be  fent  to  him  at  Rang^ 
pur.  Should  the  Devaraja  comply  with  that  requeft, 
and  fliould  the  vegetable  flourilh  in  the  plain  of  Ben-- 
galy  we  (hall  have  ocular  proof  of  its  clafs,  order,  ge- 
nus, and  fpecies  j  and  if  it  prove  the  fame  with  the 


412  ON    THE    SPIKENARD 

Jaiamafifi  of  Nepal^  which  I  now  mud  introduce  to 
yoiir  acquaintance,  the  queftion  with  which  I  began 
this  cl&y  will  be  fatisfaclorily  anfwered. 

Having  traced  the  Indian  Spikenard,  by  the  name 
of  Jatamanjij  to  the  mountains  of  Nepal^  I  requefted 
Tiv:  friend   Mr.  LaWy  who  then  rcficled  at  Gaxa^  to 
piociirc  fomc  of  the  recent  plants  by  the  means  of  the 
KefaJefe  pilgrims  ;  who,  being  orthodox  Hindus^  and 
poirelTing  many  rare  books  in  the  SiUifcr'U  langu^e, 
verc   more  likely  than   the  RiUias  to  know  the  true 
JtUtimirifiy  by  which  name  they  generally  diflinguifli 
it.  .Many  young  plants  were  accordingly  fent  to  Gaya^ 
wiih  a  Perfian  letter  fpecifically  nami:ig  them,  and 
apparently  written  by  a  man  of  rank  and  literature ;  fo 
that  no  fufpicion  of  deception  or  of  error  can  be  juftly 
entertained.     By  a  miftake  of  the  gardener  they  were 
mil  planted  at  Gaya^  where  they  have  blolTomed^  and 
at  firft  teemed  to  flourilli.     I  muft  therefore  defcribe 
the  Jatamavfi  from  the  report  of  Mn  /Jwr/,  who  fa- 
voured me  with  a  drawing  of  it,  and  in  whofe  accii- 
T.uy  we  may  perfectly  conlide  ;  bin,  before  I  produce 
the  dcfcription,  I  miifl:  endeavour  to  remove  a  preju- 
dice, in  regard  to  the  natural  order  of  the  Spikenard, 
which  they,  who  are  addidted  to  fwear  by  every  word 
of  their  mafter  Linnccus^  will  hardly  abandon  ;  and 
which  I,  who  love  truth  better  than  him,  have  aban- 
doned with  feme  rcludtance.     Nard  has  been  gene- 
rally fuppolcd  to  be  a  grafs ;  and  the  word  Jlackys  or 
ffike^  which  agrees  with  the  habit  of  their  natural  or- 
der,  gave  rife,   perhaps,  to  the  fuppofition.     There 
is  a  plant  in   Java,  which  moll  travellers  and  (bmc 
phyficians  call  Jpikenard ;   and  the  Governor  of  C///Vj- 
Jura^  who  is  kindly  endeavouring  to  procure  it  thence 
in  a  llate  fir  for  examination,  writes  me  word,  that  a 
"  Dutch  author  pronounces  it  a  grafs  like  the  Cvpirus^ 
<^  but  infills  that  what  we  call  ihc  /pike  is  the  fibrous 
"  fart  above  the  ro®t,  as  long  as  a  man's  little  fingffi 


OF    TH«    ANTIENTS.  413 

*«  of  a  brownifh  hue  inclining  to  red  or  yellow,  rather 
<*  fragrant,  and  with  a  pungent,  but  aromatic  fcent." 
This  is  too  flovenly  a  defcription  to  have  been  written 
by  a  botanift  ;  yet  I  believe  the'  latter  part  of  it  to  be 
tolerably  corrcdt,  and  (hould  imagine  that  the  plant 
was  the  fame  with  our  Jataynanji^  if  it  were  not  com- 
monly afferted  that  the  Java  fpikenard  was  ufcd  as 
a  condiment ;  and  if  a  well  informed  man,  who  had 
feen  it  in  the  ifland,  had  not  aflured  me  that  it  was  a 
fort  of  Pimento y  and  confequently  a  fpecies  of  Myrtle^ 
and  of  the  order  now  called  Hefperian.     The  refem- 
blance  before  mentioned  between  the   Indian  fumhid 
and  the  Arahian  Sudj  or  Cypirus^  had  led  me  to  fuf- 
pedt  that  the  true  nard  was  2^  grafs  or  a  reed\  and,  as 
this  country  abounds  in  odoriferous  gr a ffeSy  I  began  to 
collect  them  from  all  quarters.     Colonel  Kyd  oblige 
ingly  fent  me  two  plants  with*fweet-fmelHng  roots ; 
and,  as  they  were  known  to  the  Pafidits^  I  foon  found 
their  names  in  a  Sanfcrit  didtionary ;    one  of  them  is 
called  gandhafafhi,  and  ufed  by  the  Hindus  to  fcent 
the  red  powder  of  Sapan^  or  -fi^^^^w- wood,  which  they 
fcatter  in  the  fcftival  of  the  vernal  feafon  ;  the  other 
has  many  names,  and,  among  them,  nagaramqftac 
and  gonarda  ;  the  fecond  of  which  means  rtiftling  in 
the  zvater  j   for  all  the  Pandits  infift  that  nard  is  ne- 
ver ufed  as  a  noun  in  Sanfcrit^  and  fignifies,  as  the  root 
of  a  verb,  tojound  or  to  ruftle.     Soon  after,  Mr,  Bur-^ 
row  brought  me,  from  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  near 
Heridwary  a  very  fragrant  grafs,  which  in  fome  places 
covers  whole  acres,   and  difFufes,  when  crufhed,  fo 
flrong  an  odour,  that  a  perfon,  he  fays,  might  edily 
have  fmelt  it,  as  Alexander  is  reported  to  have  fmelt 
the  nard  of  Gedrojia  from  the  back  of  an  elephant : 
its  bloffoms  were  not  preferved,  and  it  cannot,  there- 
fore, be  defcribed.     From  Mr.  Blane  of  Lucnowy  I 
received  a  frefh  plant,  which  has  not  flowered  at  CaU 
^tia  ;  but  I  rely  implicitly  on  bis  authority,  and  have 
BQ  doubt  that  it  is  a  fpecies  of  An^rojpogon :  it  has 


f 
1 


414  ^^'    T"il^    SPIKENAPI> 

rather  a  rank  aromatic  odour,  and,  from  the  virtue 
afcribed  to  it  of  curing  intermittent  fevers,  is  known 
by  the  Sanfcril  name  of  jivaraiicufa^  which  literally 
means  a  fcverhook^  and  alludes  to  the  iron-hook  with 
which  the  elephants  are  managed-  JLaftly,  Dr,  An- 
dcrjon  of  MadniSy  who  delights  in  ufeful  purfuit.s  and 
in  afllfting  the  purfuits  of  oihers,  favoured  me  with  a 
complete  fpecimen  of  the  Amiropogon  NarduSj  one 
of  the  moft  common  graifes  on  the  coaft,  and 
flourifliing  mod  luxuriantly  on  the  mountains,  never 
eaten  by  cattle,  but  extremely  grateful  to  bees,  and 
containing  an  eflbntial  oil,  which,  he  underftands, 
IS  extradled  from  it  in  many  parts  of  Hhulujian^  and 
ufed  as  anatar,  orferjiane.  He  adds  a  very  curious 
philological  remark,  that,  in  the  Tamnl  diftionary, 
moft  words  beginning  with  nar  have  fome  relation  to 
fragrance  ;  as  iianikeradu  to  yield  an  odour  j  nartum 
pilluy  lemon-grafs  j  nartei^  citron  ;  naria  manum,  the 
wild  orange-tree  ;  luirum  panel,  the  Itulian  Jafmin  \  na* 
rum  allcriy  a  ftrong  imelling  flower ;  and  nartu^  which 
is  put  iox  uard  in  the  Tamul  verfion  of  our  Scriptures ; 
fo  that  not  only  the  nurd  of  the  Hebrews  and  Greeks^ 
but  even  the  copia  nar'non  of  Horace^  may  be  derived 
from  an  Indian  root.  To  this  I  can  only  fay,  that  I 
have  not  met  with  any  fnch  root  in  Sanfcrit,  the  oldeft 
polilhed  language  of  hidta  \  and  that  in  Perjiatiy  which 
has  a  manitcft  affinity  with  it,  7iar  means  a  pomegra* 
uatey  and  jiargd  (a  word  originally  Sanfcri^)  a  cocoU'^ 
nut ;  neither  of  which  has  any  remarkable  fragrance* 

Such  is  the  evidence  in  fupport  of  the  opinion  given 
by  the  great  SiJi^edlJIi  naturaliils,  that  the  true  nard  was 
a  gramineous  plant,  and  a  fpecies  of  Andropogon ; 
but  fmce  no  grafs  that  I  have  yet  feen  bears  any  re* 
femblance  to  the  Jutamanji,  w^hich  I  conceive  to  be  the 
nardus  of  the  antients,  I  beg  leave  to  exprefs  my  dit 
fent,  with  fome  confidence  as  aphilologer,  though  with 
humble  diffidence  as  a  ftudent  in  botany.  J  am  not, 
indeed,  of  opinion  that  ihGtiardum  of  the   Ramans 


OF  THE  AKTlfil^TS.  4t^ 

was  merely  theeffetitial  oil  of  the  pknt  from  which 
it  was  denominated,  but  am  ftrongly  inclined  to  believe 
that  it  was  3l  generic  word,  nieaning  what  we  now  call 
atar^  and  either  the  afar  of  rofes  from  Cajhmtr  and 
Ferjia^  that  of  Cetaca^  or  PandanuSj  from  the  wef- 
tern  coaft  of  Indiay  or  that  of  Aguru^  or  aloe-wood, 
from  A  [am  or  Cochinchina^  the  procefs  of  obtaining 
which  is  defcribed  by  Ahu]fa%l^  or  the  mixed  per- 
fume, called  ah'ir^  of  which  the  principal  ingredients 
were  yellow  fandal,  violets,  orange- flowers,  wood 'of 
aloes,  rofe-water,  miilk,  and  true  Spikenard:  allthofe 
eflences  and  compofitions  were  coftly;  and,  moft  of 
ihem  being  fold  by  the  Indians  to  the  Perjians  and 
Arahs^  from  whom,  in  the  time  of  O^aviuSy  they 
were  received  by  the  Syrians  and  Romans^  they  rauft 
have  been  extremelj  dear  at  Jerufahm  and  at  Rome. 
There  might  alfo  have  been  a  ptrre  nardine  oily  as 
Atherueus  calls  it ;  but  nardum  probably  nieanf  (and 
Koetiig  was  of  the  fame  opinion)  an  Indian  eflTence  in 
general^  taking  its  name  from  that  ingredient  whicti 
had,  or  was  cpmmonly  thought  to  have,  the  moft  ex- 
quifite  fcent.  But  I  have  been  drawn  by  a  pleafing 
fubjed:  to  a  greater  length  than  I  expeded,  and  pro* 
cecd  to  the  promifed  ddcription  of  the  true  nard  or 
Jatamajiji^  which,  by  the  way,  has  other  names  in  the 
Amarco/hy  the  fmootheft  of  which  zxtjatila  and  lomafuy 
both  derived  from  words  meaning //^/>.  Mr.jBwr/, after 
a  modeft  apology  for  l^is  imperfeft  acquaintance  with 
the  language  of  botartifts,  has  favoured  me  with  an 
-account  of  the  plant,  on  the  corrednefs  of  which  I 
have  a  perfedt  reliance,  and  from  which  I  coiled  the 
following  natural  characters : 

AGGR£GAT£. 

Cah     Scarce  any.     Margin  hardly  difcernible. 
Cor.    One  petal.     Tube  fomewhat  gibbous.    Bor^ 
der  five  cleft. 

Stanu     Three  anthers. 

Fiji.     Gfrm  beneatli^    Ooe/tjJs  ered^ 


4l6  6V  THE  Sl»l]tS|7ARB 

Seed  folitary^  crowned  with  a  pappus^ 

Koof  fibrous. 

Leaves  hearted,  fourfold ;  radical  leaves  petloled. 

_  ■         _ 

It  appears^  therefore,  to  be  the  Ffotean  plant,  Viile^ 
riartj  a  filler  of  the  Mountain  and  Celfic  Nard,  and 
of  a  fpecies  which  I  (hould  defchbe  in  the  LinfLean^ 
ftyle,  Valeriana  Jatamanfi  fioribus  triandrisy  foUis  cor^ 
datis  quaternisy  radicalibus  petiolaiis.  The  radical 
leaves,  rifing  from  the  ground  a£id  enfolding  the 
young  flem»  are  plucked  up  with  a  part  of  the  root, 
and,  being  dried  in  the  fun,  or  by  an  artificial  heat, 
are  fold  as  a  drug,  which  from  its  appearance  has  been 
called  ^ikenard  I  though,  as  the  Perfian  writer  ob* 
ferves,  it  might  be  compared  more  properly  to  the 
tail  of  an  ermine.  When  nothing  remains  but  the  dry 
fibres  of  the  leaves,^  which  retain  their  original  form, 
they  have  fome  reCbmblance  to  a  lock  of  hair^  from 
ivhich  the  Sanfcrit  name,  it  feems,  is  derived.  Two 
mercantile  agents  from  Butan  on  the  part  of  the  De* 
vataja  were  examined,  at  my  requeft,  by  Mr.  JEfcr- 
ringion ;  and  informed  him  that  the  drug,  which  the 
Bengalefe  called  Jatamanfi^  "  grew  ered  above  the 
•*  furface  of  the  ground,  refembling  in  colour  an  ear 
•'  of  green  wheat ;  that,  when  recent,  it  had  a  faint 
odour,  which  was  greatly  increafed  by  the  fimple 
procefs  of  drying  it  j  that  it  abounded  on  the  hills, 
•*  and  even  on  the  plains,  of  Butan,  where  it  was 
•*  coUefted  and  prepared  for  medicinal  purpofes.** 
What  its  virtues  are,  experience  alone  can  afcertain  j 
but,  as  far  as  botanical  analogy  can  juftify  a  conjec- 
ture, we  may  fuppofe  them  to  be  antifpafmodic ;  and, 
in  our  provinces,  efpecially  in  Behar,  the  plant  will 
probably  flourifh ;  fo  that  we  may  always  procure  it 
in  a  ftate  fit  for  experiment.  On  the  defcription  of 
the  Indian  Spikenard,  compared  with  the  drawing,  I 
muft  obferve,  that,  though  all  the  leaves,  as  aeli» 
neated,  may  not  appear  of  the  fanxe  (hape,  yet  all  of 


OF  T«E  AKTIENTS. 


417 


them  are  not  fully  expanded.  Mr.  6urt  aflures  mc 
that  the  four  radical  leaves  are  hearted  and  petioled^ 
and  it  is  moft  probable,  that  the  cauline  and  floral 
leaves  would  have  a  fimilar  form  in  their  ftate  of  per- 
feft  expanfion  ;  bur,  unfortunately,  the  plants  at  Gc^'a 
are  now  fhrivelled ;  and  they  who  feek  farther  infor* 
mation,  muft  wais  with  patience  until  new  ftems  and 
leaves  fhall  fpring  from  the  roots,  or  other  plants  ftiali 
be  brought  from  Nepal  and  Buian.  On  the  propofcd 
inquiry  into  the^virtuesof  this  celebrated  plant,  I  muft 
be  permitted  to  fay,  that,  although  many  botantfls 
may  have  wafted  their  time  in  enumerating  the  qUali-^ 
ties  of  vegetables,  without  having  afcertained  ihem  by 
repeated  and  latisfa6tory  experiments,  and  although 
mere  botany  goes  no  farther  than  technical  arrangement 
and  defcription,  yet  it  feems  indubitable  that  the  great 
end  and  aim  of  a  botanical  philofopher  is  to  difcover 
and  prove  the  feveral  ufes  of  the  vegetable  fyftcm  j 
and,  while  he  ^AmiX^^wxih  Hippocrates  thzfalJaciou/nefir 
of  experiencey  to  rely  on  experiment  alone  as  the  bafis 
of  his  knowledge. 


«.  I 


%  "^"J 


APPENDIX. 


METEOROLOGICAL  DIARY, 

I 

KEPT  AT  CALCUTTA, 

By   HENRY  TRAIL,    E/q. 

From  I  ft  February  1784,  to  31ft  Decern.  178^. 


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REMARKS. 


IN  the  following  Diary  of  the  Weather,  begun  die 
ill  of  February  1 784,  every  diange  in  the  air  was 
marked  down  with  the  greatdl  precifion  three  times 
every  day,  and  always  neariy  at  the  iame  hours,  viz. 
at  fun-rifing  at  three,  or  half  paft  three  o'clock  in  the 
afternoon,  and  at  eleven  o'dock  at  night. 

While  the  wind  continued  foutherly,  the  Thermo- 
meter was  placed  in  a  Verandah  open  to  the  EUplanade, 
where  there  was  at  all  times  a  free  circulation  of  air  ; 
and  when  the  wind  became  northerly,  the  infbument 
was  removed  to  the  oppofite  fide  of  the  boufe,  and 
equally  expofed,  as  in  the  preceding  part  of  the  year. 

The  Barometer  continued  always  in  the  fame 
(dace. 

The  Hygrometer  made  ufe  of>  was  a  bit  d  fine 
Iponge,  fulpended  in  a  fcale  (on  the  end  of  a  fleel- 
yard)  firft  prepared  for  more  eafily  imbibing  the 
nMMfture,  by  dipping  it  in  a  folution  of  Salt  of  Tar- 
tar, afterwards  drying  it  well,  and  bridging  it  to  an 
equilibrium  by  a  weight  in  the  oppofite  fcale,  at  a 
time  when  the  atmofphere  appealed  to  have  the 
leaft  degree  of  moifhire. 

A  fanicircular  fade  at  the  top^  divided  firom  o  to 
90^  cm  each  fide,  with  the  needle  of  the  yard,  pointed 
out  the  quantity  of  moiftute  gained  ot  UA  daily; 
tmt  in  the  following  Diary  the  dorses  of  moilhtfe 
btVc  fddcxn  been  taken  down. 

£  ea 


422  APPENDIX. 

Every  fall  of  rain  was  likewife  taken,  and  the  q[uan« 
tity  in  cubic  inches  daily  noted  down. 

The  winds  were  alfo  obferved,  and  the  figures 
o^  I9  2^  3»  49  denote  the  force  thereof. 

Here  it  may  be  remarked^  that  at  fun-ri(ing,  there 
is  feldonn  or  eyer  any  wind  i  but  no  fooner  is  the  air 
a  little  rarefied  by  its  rays,  than  a  little  breeze  begins, 
and  this  generally  increafes  till  about  noon,  when 
again  it  begins  to  loOe  its  force^  and  dies  away,  from 
the  fame  caufe. 

Ih"  order  to  afeertain  the  influence  of  the  Moon 
upon  the  weather,  the  mean  temperature,  as  well  as 
the  weieht  of  the  atmofphere  of  each  quaner,  is 
accurately  marked  down  by  taking  in  the  three 
days  preceding,  and  the  three  days  after  the  change 
with  the  intermediate  day.  From  thefe  the  denfity 
is  difcovered  by  the  following  rule,  given  by  Dr. 
Bradefyy  viz. 

A,  altitude  of  barometer ;  B,  altitude  of  thermo- 
meter J  D,  denfity. 

A/ 

-  =  D  -«->  or  denfity. 


B  X  350 


N.  B,  In  this  the  mean  morning  denfity  is  only 
taken.  However,  the  mean  denfiiy  for  the  whole 
may  be  found  by  the  fame  rule. 

January  i^  1785.  Frgm  an  ekamination  of  one 
yearns  obfervations  on  the  influence  of  the  Moon  on 
the  mercyry  in  the  Barometer,  it  does  not  ajppear 
that  there  is  any  certain  rule  to  be  laid  down  regard*- 
ing  it*     However,  it  may  be  affirmed  that  the  direc- 


AFPEVDIX.  423 

tion  of  the  winds  has  more  effeft  upon  it,  as  we  never 
fail  to  lee  the  mercury  higheft  when  the  wind  blows 
from  the  N  W ;  in  a  leffer  degree  from  the  N,  and 
loweft  of  all  when  ir proceeds  from  the  SE  quarters. 


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1 

470  APPENDIX* 

From  the  foregoing  Diary  of  the  Weather,  it  may 
be  remarked  in  ree^  to  the  vafiatioQ  of  the  Baro* 
meter,  that  during  Ae  cold  feafon,  from  November  to 
March,  the  mercury  is  at  its  greatefl  height ;  and  at  the 
loweft  during  the  rainy  months  of  May,  June,  July, 
Auguft,  and  September.  The  variation  of  the  Ther* 
mometer,  or  the  difference  between  the  temperature 
of  mid-day  and  that  of  the  morning  and  evening,  is 
Very  trifling,  feldpm  exceeding  3  or  4^  during  the 
rains,  whereas,  during  the  cold  feafon,  the  difference 
kSorio?.  * 


I 


•  I 


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n. 

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m  • 

^  Synopfis  of  the  different  Cafes  that  may  happen  in 
deducing  the  Longitude  of  one  Place  from  another y  by 
Means  of  Arnolds  Chronometers^  and  of  finding  the 
Rates  when  the  Difference  of  I/mgitude  is  grven^- 


BY   MR.   REUBBN   BURROW. 


I 


T  was  formerly  the  cuftom  to  give  rules  for  calcula- 
.  don,  without  any  inveftigation  of  their  principles^ 
but  the '  contra  y  method  has  fo  mbch  taken  place  of 
late,  that  thofe  who  are  not  acquainted  with  the  theory 
of  a  fubjedt,  are  feldom  in  a  capacity  of  calculating  at 
all ;  and  thofe  who  are  acquainted  with  it,  muft  either 
lofe  time  by  recurring  theretb  .continually,  or  run  the 
hazard  of  often  making  miftakes.  Indeed,  the  ufe  of 
pradical  rules  is  fo  obvious,  that  Newton  has  often 
given  them  when  he  has  on^itted  their  demonftrations ; 
and  the  want  of  them  has  been  noted  by  Bacon  among 
the  deficiencies  of  learning.  The  Hindoos  were  fo 
panicularly  attentive  in  that  refpeft,  that  they  ufually 
^  gave  two  rules  tor  the  fame  operation ;  one  couched 
in  the  (horteft  terms  poflible,  and  often  in  verfe,  for 
the  eafe  of  the  memory ;  and  the  other  more  at  length, 
as  an  explanation.  It  therefore  is  much  to  be  wiflied 
that  authors  would  revert  to  the  ancient  cuftom  fo  far, 
as  to  pay  fome  attention  to  the  redudlion  of  their 
knowledge  to  pradtice,  that  people  may  not  be  under 
the  neceflity  of  inveftigating  rules  at  the  time  they 
want  to  ufe  them* 

The  following  is  one  rule,  out  of  a  great  number, 
that  I  drew  up  for  my  own  ufe^  in  determining  the 


474  APPENDIX. 

fituations  of  places  in  India ;    and  I  infert  it  on  ac« 
count  of  its  utility  and  eafinefs  of  application. 

Let  E=Error  of  the  Watch  from  mean  time  at  the 
firil  place } 

e=9  Error  from  mean  time  at  tht  fecond  place  -, 

T=Time  by  the  Watch  at  the  fecond  place,  when 
the  error  was  e ; 

D=Difrerence  of  Lpngitiyje  between  the  places ; 

N^^Intfcrval  of  mean  time  between  the  obfervatioos 
lur  the  two  pli^ccs  (found  by  taking  the  imerv^lby  the 
W«tch,  and  correfting  it  according  to  theefiimaied 
fate,  i&c.j .  .•■ 

r^^Rate  of  the  Watch,  or  what  it  gaim  or  lofes  in  z 
day  of  mean  time*    Th^tij  ' 


»4    U    Wi    Wi 

C   G   a   G 

hh 


A?PEKDTX* 

*3pn)T3ao^  JO  astnidjgip  axp  sx 


Wi    Wi    li*    w 

C   C   C   C 

w  y  w  y 


If 

II 


u 

T 

+ 


+ 


&*» 


i 


I 


w  5 


475 


a  G  G  c 


0^ 


G   a   G   G 


I     1  + 


••  ••  ftj  •• 


-I 


U^U^  W^M^    ^      U^U^  U^U^ 


■rfV 


i^Vi 


■#Vi 


911)^)  4|Jt)  9X{x  vaoij  9q  33tid  pao39;  dip  ji  'nai^x 


T   I 


0^  U 

it  i 


T  T 


V        u 


I"  '  '         ^  -"^ 

tVA  93vi(i  puoMj  dtp  )v  3toi)  titdul  9\)i  a»qM  JIO  'pU039^ 
9H)  }v  X  <*^  M?)*AV.  ^^)  U9<|A  doefd  ^j^  aqi  )t  91x113  uvdoi  9i(3  sf 
V  ■  v»  --^«J 


uai|? 


usq) 


uai|? 


to 

c 


a 
O 


to 


g 


to 

B 

a 
« 


<-.,,  p 


6 

a 

8 

e 


to 

c 

i£3 


Si! 

la 

•S  J* 


clo-2  > 


003  9<{  H33f  Al  av  II 


s4i 


•:t 


III. 

MEMORANDUMS 

CONCERNING  AN  OLD  BUILD INa 

In  the  Hadjipore  Djftri^f^  near  the  Gunduc  River ^  &s* 


BY    MR.    REUBEN    BURROW. 


HTHE  pyramids  of  Egypt ^  as  well  as  thofe  lately  dit 
covered  in  Ireland  (and  probably  too  the  lower 
of  Bahel)  feem  to  have  been  intended  for  nothing 
more  than  images  of  Mahadeo. 

Two  of  the  Sakkara  pyran>ids  defcribed  by  JVbr- 
den^  are,  like  many  of  the  fmall  ones,  ufually  built  of 
mud  in  the  villages  of  Bengal.  One  of  the  pyramids 
oi  Dajhour,  drawn  by  Pocock^  is  nearly  fimilar  to  that 
I  am  going  to  mention,  except  in  the  acutenefs  of 
the  angle.  Moft  of  the  Pagodas  of  the  Carnatic  arc 
either  complete  or  truncated  pyramids ;  and  an  old 
ftone-building  without  any  cavity,  which  I  faw  in 
Yambeah^  near  the  Cataheda  river,  on  the  Arracan 
coaft,  differed  fo  little  from  a  pyramid,  that  I  did  not 
fufpe(^  it  was  meant  for  the  image  oiSeeva^  till  I  waa 
told  it  by  the  natives. 

I 

The  largeft  building  of  the  kind  which  T  have  yet 
fccn  in  Indian  is  about  two  days  journey  up  the  G««- 
duc  river,  near  a  place  called  Kejfereah  :  it  goes  by  the 
name  of  Bheem  Saints  Dewry ;  but  feems  evidently 
intended  for  the  well-known  image  oi  Mahadeo ;  hav- 
W  originally  been  a  cylinder  placed  upon  th^  f^uC* 


47*  '  APPENDIX. 

turn  of  a  cone,  for  the  purpo(c  of  being  (een  at  a  dff- 
tance^  It  is  at  prefcnt  very  much  decayed;  and  it  is 
not  eafy  to  tell  whether  the  upper  part  of  the  cylinder 
has  been  globular  or  conical :  a  confiderable  quantity 
of  the  ouifide  is  fallen  down,  but  it  ftill  may  be  fecn  a 
good  diftance  up  and  down  the  river. 

The  day  I  went  from  the  river  to  view  it  was  fo  un- 
commonly hot,  that  the  walk  and  a  fever  together 
obliged  me  to  truft  to  the  meafurements  of  a  fervant. 
For  want  of  a  better  inftrument,  he  took  the  circum- 
ference of  the  cylindrical  part,  in  length  of  a  fpear,  and 
fipom  that  as  a  fcale,  and  a  iketch  of  the  building 
taken  at  a  diftance,  I  deduced  the  following  dimen- 
fioos.  What  dependence  there  may  be  on  his  mcalures^ 
]  cannot  determine,  bgt  probably  they  are  not  very 
erroneous*   ' 

i)iameter  of  the  cylindrical  part        —         64  feet 
[eight  of  the  cylinder  —  65 

[eight  of  the  conic  fruftrum  on  which  the 
cylinder  is  placed  —  95 

Diameter  of  the  cone  at  the  bafe       -—       363 

'  Both  the  cone  and  the  cylinder  were  of  bricks; 
thofe  of  the  laft  were  of  different  fizes,  many  of  them 
two  fpans  long  and  one  broad  ;  others  jvere  of  th-e 
common  fize,  but  thinner  ;  and  they  were  well  burnt, 
though  bedded  in  mortar  little  better  than  mud^ 
There  did  not  appear  any  figns  of  the  cylinder*s  being 
hollow  :  the  conical  part  was  overgrown  with  jungle  2 
but  I  broke  through  it  in  feveral  places,  and  found 
it  everywhere  brick, 

I  do  not  recolleft  whether  it  be  vifible  from  the 
fiite  of  the  ancient  city  where  the  famous  pillar  of 
Singeah  (Unds,  or  not  j  but  have  a  faint  idea  that  ix. 


APPENDIX^  479 

• 

is.  What  the  intention  of  thefe  extraordinary  colunins 
may  have  been  originally,  is  perhaps  not  fo  eafy  to 
tell :  at  firft  fight  it  would  feem  that  they  were  for 
holding  infcriptions,  becaufe  thofe  oi  Bettiah,  DehU^ 
and  lUahahady  have  infcriptions  (chough  in  a  cha- 
rafter  that  has  not  been  yet  decyphered) ;  but  x\\t 
pillar  of  Singeah  ieems  to  have  none  whatever,  for 
fome  Bramins  told  me  they  attended  at  the  time  it  was 
dug  to  the  foundation,  near  twenty  feet  under  ground, 
by  a  gentleman  of  Patruz^  who  had  hopes  to  have 
found  fome  treafu res;  and  that  there  were  not  the 
lead  veftige  of  any  infcription  upon  it.  Probably 
thofe  pillars,  Cleopatra's  Needhy  and  the  DeviPs  Bohs, 
at  BoroughhridgCy  may  all  have  the  fame  religious 
oiigin. 

Perhaps  the  conneftion  of  time  and  place  may  apo- 
logize for  the  diverfity  of  the  fubjeft,  in  mentioning, 
that  while  I  fat  under  the  fhade  of  a  large  tree  near 
the  pyramid,  on  account  of  the  fultry  heat,  fome  of 
the  people  of  the  adjacent  village  came  and  played 
there  with  cowrie^  on  a  diagram,  that  was  formed  by 
placing  five  points  in  a  circular  order,  and  joining 
every  pair  of  alternate  points  by  a  line,  which  formed 
a  kind  of  pentagon ;  this  brought  to  my  recoUeftioa 
a  circumflance  told  me  by  a  gentleman  in  Englandr^ 
That  an  old  piece  of  filver  plate  had  been  dug  out  of 
the  earth  with  fuch  a  figure  upon  it ;  the  ufe  of  it  was 
totally  unknown,  as  well  as  the  age ;   and  I  was  de- 
fired  to  find  what  geometrical  properties  the  figure 
poffeflTed.    One,  I  remember,  was,  that  if  any  number 
of  points  whatever  were  placed  in  a  circular  order,  and 
each  two  alternate  points  joined,  then  the  fum  of  all 
the  falient  angles  of  the  figures  would  be  equal  to  two 
right  angles  when  the  number  of  points  was  .odd ; 
but  equal  to  four  right  angles  when  the  number  was 
even.    Euclid's  properties  of  the  angles  of  the  triangle 
and  trapezium^  are  particular  cafes  of  thefe  i  but  { l^d 


480  *  APPENDIX. 

no  (ufpiclon  of  the  real  intention  of  the  figure  till  I 
law  the  ufc  here  m^de  of  it.  It  feems,  however,  an  ar- 
gument in  favour  of  the  identity  of  the  Druids  and 
nraminsj  as  well  as  another  well-known  diagram, 
ufually  called  the  IValls  of  Troy^  which  was  ufed 
originally  in  xht^Hiridoo  aftrology.  Thefe  figures,  how- 
ever, appear  to  have  flowed  from  a  much  higher  fource, 
and  16  have  relation  to  what  LeibnUz  had  a  diftant 
idea  of  in  his  Analyfis  of  Situation,  Euclid  in  his  Po- 
rifms,  and  Girard  perhaps  in  his  Reftitution  of  them. 
In  faft,  as  the  modern  Algebraifts  have  the  advantage 
of  transferring  a  gieat  part  of  rheif*  labour  from  the 
'head  to  the  hand3,  fo  there  is  reafon  to  believe  that 
the  Hindoos  had  mechanical  methods  of  reafoning  geome^* 
iricallyy  much  more  extenfive  than  the  elementary 
methods  made  ule  of  at  prefcnt  j  and  that  even  their 
games  were  deduced  from  and  intended  perhaps  tp 
be  examples  of  them  :  bat  this  deferves  to  be  treated 
more  at  length  'clfewhere^ 

The  fame  apology  may  perhaps  excufe  my  men- 
tioning here,  that  the  idea  of  the  JV/7^*s  deriving  its 
floods  from  the  meked  fnovys,  as  well  as  the  Ganges^ 
appears  to  be  rather  imaginary  :  they  fecm  to  be  caufed 
principally  by  the  rains  ,*  for  the  high  hills  beyond  the 
Herdwar  apparently  retain  the  fnow  all  the  year,  and 
therefore  the  quantity  meked  could  ney^  produce 
the  enormous  fmell  of  the  Ganges  \  not  to  mention 
that  the  effect  ofath^w  feems  dificrent  from  what 
would  arife  from  the  mere  difference  of  heat,  and 
therefore  might  partly  take  place  in  winter  and  the  dry 
fcafon.  That  the  rains  are  fufficient  for  the  purpofe, 
without  recurring  to  the  hypothefis  of  melted  frjows, 
appears  from  the  following  faft  :  — »  A  little  before  I 
obferved  the  aforefaid  pyramid,  I  had  been  a  confi- 
derable  diilance  up  \\\t  Gunduc;  the  river  was  low 
for  the  time  of  the  year,  and  the  hills  that  Ikirt  the 
lK>fd4:;rs  Oi  A'epaulwcvc  clear,  and  apparently  not  above 


APPENDIX.  481 

fifteen  cofe  diftant :  foon  after,  a  heavy  (hower  fell 
upon  them  for  fome  hours,  and  the  river  was  in  a 
(hoit  time  filled  to  the  very  banks,  and  continued  fo 
for  many  days ;  and  large  trees  were  torn  up  by  the 
roots,  and  came  driving  down  with  fuch  force  by  the 
torrent,  that  my  boat  was  often  endangered.  Now,  on 
thefc  hills  there  was  adually  no  fnow  whatever ;  and 
as  the  rife  was  obvioufly  caufed  by  the  rains,  it  may 
Tcafonablv  be  concluded  that  the  (ame  effeft  has  the 
lame  caufe  in  other  places. 


IV. 


OB^ERy-ATlONS  ON  SOME  OF  THE 
ECLIPSES  OF  JUPITER'S  SATELLITES, 


y 


£Y    MR.    REUBEN    BURROW. 


TkefoUvwing  in  the  Ga?iges  and  Burramfiooter  Rhers. 


Apparent  time  1787. 
h     d    '     " 


Sat.      Weather. 


Kov. 


Dec. 


Im.  or  Em.      Plaoe  of  Obfervation. 


23  II  41    9 

2 

Moderate^ 

24  15  41  22 

3 

Ditto, 

11     12    45    T4 

I 

Ditto, 

23    10    2b    20 

3 

Ditto,  ' 

25    II    47    39 

2 

Ditto, 

25    16    41   40 

Ditto, 

27  n  13  59 

Ditto, 

30  14  35  16 

Ditto, 

19    8  56  32 

Ditto, 

26  11  33  45 

« 

Ditto, 

26  13  13  57 

Ditto, 

28    7  4*  5* 

Ditto, 

3  14  10  54 

Hazy, 

3  15    8     I 

ft 

Moderate, 

5    7  51  59 

DitJo, 

5    9  35  *6 

Ditto, 

ro  16  45  14 

Very  hazy, 

10  16  57  56 

Moderate, 

f2    II    26      9; 

Hazy, 

t2    II    48  40 

3 

Ditto, 

19  IS  28  59 

X 

Ditto. 

I  mm. . 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Emer. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Emer. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm^ 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Imm. 

Emer. 


Bankipore  Graoarf. 

Ditto. 
Colgong;  Clevel«ad.Bi»s. 
Mouth  of  Jeljipgjr* 
Shore  ofGange^S.ofP^boa 

Ditto. 
Coflundah;  NalUii. 
Dacca;  Nabob*! houfe. 
Te^copee,  Burrainpootec^f 
BakkamarChoic 

.     Ditto. 
Caeycotta. 
Goalparah. 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 
Btidjapore. 

,    Ditto.  ^  •  .  t 

Tingarchor. 

Ditto. 
Lttckipore. 


The  following  on  the  Aarracan  Coafi. 


Apparent  time  1788. 

Sat 

Weather. 

Im.  or  Em. 

1     h     '     "     ' 

0     n 
Feb.         5  10  18  12: 

I 

Moderate. 

Emer. 

12  12  13  54 

I 

A  little  hazy 

Emer. 

21    8  29  22 

I 

Moderate, 

Emer. 

13  10  57  53 

2 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

18  xo  35  13 

X 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Place  of  ObferVation. 


Chednba,  Flag-  ftaflf  Point, 
Ditto,  Maykawoody  Fort. 
Yambeah  Ty  Fort 
Ditto,  Kyaonemo. 
Chedaba;  Cedar  Poioc. 


484 


APPENDIX- 


The  following  were  ohferved  at  Colonel  Watforfs  DocJcs 
at  Kidder fbre J  near  the  Mouth  of  the  Nutlah 


Apparent  time  1788. 
d    h    '    " 
Much  r;    8.36  36 

19    7  54    * 

22    10    34   41 

31     7     I  24 


Sat. 


I 
2 

I 
I 


Weather 


Moderate, 
Ditto, 
Ditto, 
Ditto, 


Im.  or  Em. 


Emcr. 
Emer. 
Emer. 
Emer. 


place  of  Obfcrvation. 


Thf  following  171  the  Ganges  ^nd  Rohilcundy  &<;* 


^  Apparent  time  1788. 

Sat. 

Weather. 

Im.  or  Em. 

«■ 

Place  o(  Obfcrvation. 

d    h    '     '' 
8  14  35  3*^ 

Oft. 

Vlodcrnte, 

Em*-r. 

Bankipore. 

^9  14    3    4 

Ditto, 
Ditto, 

Imni. 

Benares  Obfematory. 

Vi^. 

;  154a  36 

I  mm. 

Chunar  Camp. 

12  174443 

Hdzy, 

Imm. 

Illahabad  Foft. 

14  12  It  29 

D.tto, 

Iitira. 

Correahcotta. 

10  10  48  28 

Modrratc, 

Imm. 

In  the  Ganges  3m  heloW 

1014   952: 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

NudjiffGhur. 

41  1358  32 

J 

Ditio, 

Imm. 

Janjemow. 

17  T4  44  29 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

jCawopore;  MagarjnaGaiit: 

18  15  49  22 

* 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Ditto. 

30  10  T7    2 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Ditto. 

The. 

t  ^S    2  23 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Joogoagpore  Gaut. 

7 12    6    5 

Ditto, 

Immi 

EaftofCanonge,  0°'  2'  29"- 

14  13  54  57 

D?tto, 

Imm. 

FuMyghui  Magazine. 

ai    92053 

Ditto, 

Inim. 

Ditto,  Dr.  Cook's  Gaut. 

ai  15445* 

Ditto, 

Imm'. 

Ditto. 

13  rO  12  34 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Difto. 

28  17  35  22: 

Hazy, 

Imm. 

Ciitterah. 

30  12    2  48 

Moderate, 

|mm. 

Fereedporc. 

1789. 

J»n«i 

4  r4  26  28 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Nabobgunge. 

>  13  5341 
8    8  20  16 

Ditto, 

Ifrim. 

PlUibeat;  Eed  Gah. 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Shairgorr. ' 

9  14  10  39 

Ditto, 

Imm. 

Bower  kah* 

21  14  15  50 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Bhyrah. 

14    8  44    I 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Tafcooradwar. 

' 

29  14  »5  3^ 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Nidjibabad. 

29  i6    7  ^4 

H^zy, 

Emer.  . 

Ditto* 

Feb. 

14  13  22  49 

Moderate, 

Etncr. 

Amrooah. 

14  14  23  40 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Ditto* 

16    84S    8 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Huflcnporc. 

1$    8  5r  5^ 

I 

Hazy, 

Emer. 

Ditto* 

17     6  53   11: 

4 

Duto, 

1mm. 

Secrfah. 

17  II    6  44: 

4 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Ditto* 

23  to  50    I 

Ditto, 

Emer. 

Chandowly. 

March 

1  ti  48  13 

Moderate, 

Elmer. 

Futty  ghur,  Dr.  Cook's  daut 

2  14  I*  10 

^ 

Ditto, 

Emcr. 

Ditto. 

APFEMDIX. 


485 


Apparent  time  1789. 

d    h    '    " 
March  ix    9  22  ai: 

18  II  23  56 
20    9'  440 

27    7  59  ^6 
27  II  53    I 
29  10  31  10 
April      3    9  56  45: 
10  II  5948: 

19  8  30  56 

26  10  31  22 


Sat. 

Weather. 

Moderate. 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 

Ditto.  * 

Ditto. 

Ditto, 

Ditto. 
'Very  hazy. 

Hazy. 
Moderate.  | 

Im.  or  Em. 


£iner^« 

Emer. 

Eraer. 

Emer. 

Emer. 

Iram. 

Emer. 

Emer. 

Emer* 

Emer. 


Place  of  Obfervatlons. 


Mobarickpore  Gaut. 
Cbunar  Fort. 
Benares  Obfervatory* 
Bankypore  Granary* 

Ditto. 

Ditto. 
Patna;  Chehelfuttoon. 
MoDgeer,  Rocky  Point. 
Rajmahal. 
Teacally  Dumdumma. 


7 he  foUowing  were  obferved  at    Rtiffahpugly^   near 

Calcutta. 


Apparent  time  1789. 
d    h    '    " 
May       12    8  48  50 

Sat. 

Weather. 

■■ 

Im.orEm. 

Place  of  Obfcrvation. 

Moderate. 

Emer. 

Pec.       19  If  59  15 

Haly. 

Imm. 

% 

»9  H    5  33 

Ditto. 

Imm. 

22  II  23    A 
26  134938 

Moderate 

Imm. 

,                        > 

Ditto. 

Imm. 

1790. 

Jan.          2  15  39  32 

Ditto  ■" 

Imm. 

f 

18  13  44  51 

Mift&wind. 

Imm. 

23  104948 

Ditto.     • 

Imm. 

24    9  4C'57 

Hazy. 

Imm. 

.27  JO    8  19 

Moderate. 

Imm. 

31  13  3635 

Very  hazy. 

Imm. 

Feb.        I  17  3248 

Hazy. 

Imm. 

3  12    I  30 

Moderate. 

Imm. 

^ 

17  10  38  18 

Ditto. 

Emer. 

19  12  33  56 

Ditto. 

Emer. 

26  14  28  38 

Hazy. 

Emer. 

28   8  57  22 

Moderate. 

Emer. 

March      i    9   0  52 

Ditto. 

Emer. 

5  l6  24  13 

Hazy. 

Emer. 

16    7  18  14 

Moderate^ 

Emer. 

3.1    9  His 

Ditto. 

Emer. 

26    7  36  II 

4 

Ditto. 

Imm. 

The  two  following  were  at  Jowgatta^  near  Kri/hnagur* 


Apparent  time  1790. 
d    h    '    '^ 
April    22  10  27  30 

22  II  31  10^ 


Weather. 


Moderate. 
Ditto. 


Im.  or  Em. 


Emer. 
Emer. 


Place  of  Obfenrations. 


Vol.  II. 


li 


486  APPENDIX. 

Thofe  to  the  31ft  of  March  1788,  were  oblerved 
with  a  glafs  made  by  fVatkinSy  that  magnified  about 
110  times;  thofe  from  thence  to  the  1 2th  of  May  1 790, 
were  obferved  with  one  of  Ram/Jen^  telefcopes  of  the 
fort  lately  made  for  the  navy  ;  and  the  remainder  with 
a  glafs  made  by  Dolland^  that  magnifies  about  eighty 
times. 

I  (hall  conclude  thefe  obfervations  with  a  remark 
that  highly  concerns  both  the  buyers  and  makers  of 
telefcopes  j  namely,  that  the  parts  which  compofe  the 
objeft-glafs  of  an  Achromatic,  are  generally  put  toge- 
ther in  fuch  a  manner  that  they  cannot  be  taken  afun- 
der ;  and  the  brafs  part  that  they  are  bedded  in,  (hoots 
a  number  of  chymical  ramifications  between  the  gla(res, 
that  in  the  courfe  of  a  year  renders  a  telefcope  of  little 
or  no  fervice.  This  defeft  the  maker  may  eafily  re- 
move, by  making  the  compound  objed-glafs  capable 
of  being  taken  to  pieces,  or  the  parts  in  fome  other 
fubftance  not  liable  to  this  defeft. 


V. 


A  PROOF  THAT  THE  HINDOOS  HAD  THE 

BINOMIAL  THEOREM. 


BY    MR.    REUBEN   BURROW. 


T^HE  ijlands  in  the  Bay  of  Betigal  are,  many  of 
them,  covered  with  (hells  and  marine  produc- 
tions to  a  great  height,  and  there  are  beds  of  large 
fmooth  pebbles  near  the  Herdwar^  fome  hundreds  of 
feet  above  the  prefent  level  of  the  Ganges  \  the  fea 
has  therefore  gradually  been  retiring,  and  confcquently 
the  pofition  of  the  Equator  was  formerly  farther  north 
than  it  is  at  prefent  in  this  part  of  the  earth ;  and  if  a 
few  fimilar  obfervations  were  made  in  other  countries, 
it  is  evident  that  the  ancient  fituation  of  the  pole 
upon  the  furface  of  the  earth  might  be  determined 
fufiiciently  near  for  explaining  many  difBcukies  and 
paradoxes  in  geographical  antiquities.  For  this  purpofe 
alfo  it  would  be  advifeable  to  have  permanent  meri- 
dian lines  drawn  in  high  northern  latitudes,  to  be  com- 
pared in  fucceeding  ages,  and  alfo  to  have  marks  cut 
upon  rocks  in  the  Tea,  to  (hew  the  proper  level  of  the 
water. 

In  the  aforefaid  pofition  of  the  Equator,  the  fands 
of  Ttfr/tfry  were  inhabitable,  and  the  Siberian  climates 
temperate;  the  deferts  of  the  Leffer  Bukharia  were 
then  part  of  the  feat  of  the  Paradife  of  Mofes  ;  and 
the  four  facred  rivers  of  Eden  went  through  India^ 
China,  Siherla^  and  into  the  Cafptan  Sea^  refpcdivcly* 
This  appears  from  a  Bramin  map. of  the  world  in  the 

112 


481}  APPENDIX. 

Sanfcrit  language y  which  I  met  with  about  two  years 
j^o  in  the  higher  part  of  India,  together  with  a  valu- 
able treatife  of  geography  upon  the  fyftem  of  Boodhi 
both  of  which  I  communicat  ed,  with  my  idea  on  the 
fubjeft,to  Mr.  fVd/ordy  o(  the  Bengal  EnginccTs;  and 
from  him  the  world  may  expedt  ihortly  to  be  favoured 
with  the  firft  true  reprefent  ation  of  Scriptural  and 
Hindoo  Geography, 

From  the  aforefaid  cou  ntry  the  Hindoo  religion  pro- 
bably fpread  over  the  wh  ole  earth  :  there  are  figns  of 
it  in  every  northern  country,  and  in  almoft  eveiy  fyf- 
tem of  wbrfhip.  In  England  it  is  obvious ;  Stonchenge 
is  evidently  one  of  the  temples  of  Boodh ;  and  the 
arithmetic,  the  aftronomy,  aftrology,  the  holidays, 
games,  names  of  the  ftars,  and  figures  of  the  conftel- 
lations,  the  ancient  monuments,  laws,  and  even  the 
languages  of  the  different  nations,  have  the  ftrongeft 
marks  of  the  fame  original.  The  worftiip  of  the  fun 
and  fire,  human  and  animal  facrifice,  &c.  have  ap- 
parently once  been  univerfal :  the  religious  ceremonies 
of  the  papifts  feem  in  many  parts  to  be  a  meri  fervile 
copy  of  thofe  of  the  Gofeigns  and  Fakeers ;  the  chrif- 
tian  afcetics  were  very  little  different  from  their  filthy 
original  the  Byraggys^  &c. ;  even  the  hell  of  the 
northern  nations  is  not  at  all  like  the  hell  of  the  fcrip- 
ture,  except  in  fome  few  particulars ;  but  it  is  fb 
ftriking  a  likenefs  of  the  hell  of  the  HindooSy  that  I 
fhould  not  at  all  be  furprized  if  the  flory  of  the  fol- 
dier  that  faw  it  in  Saint  Patrick* s  purgatory,  defcribed 
in  Matthew  Paris^s  hiftory,  fhould  hereafter  turn  out 
to  be  merely  a  tranflation  from  the  Sarifcrit^  with  the 
names  changed.  The  different  tenets  of  Popery  and 
*  Deifm  have  a  great  fimilarity  to  the  two  doftrines  of 
Brahma  and  Boodh ;  and  as  the  Bramins  were  th"e  au- 
thors of  the  Ptolemaic  fyflem,  fo  the  Boodhifts  appear 
to  have  been  the  inventors  of  the  ancient  Philolaic^  or 
Copernican^  as  well  as  of  the  do<3;rine  of  attraftion  s  and 


APP£KDIX%  4S9 

probably  too  the  eftabliflied  religion  of  die  Greeks  and 
the  Eleufinian  myfteries  may  only  be  varieties  of  the 
two  different  fefts.  That  the  Druids  of  Britain  were 
Bramins,  is  beyond  the  leaft  (hadow  of  a  doubt ;  but 
that  they  were  all  murdered  and  their  fciences  bft,  is 
out  of  the  bounds  of  probability;  it  is  much  Nmore 
likely  that  they  turned  Schoolmafters,  Freemaftms, 
and  Fortune-tellers,  and  in  this  way  part  of  their 
fciences  might  eafily  defcend  to  pofterity,  as  we  find 
they^  have  done*  An  old  paper,  faid  to  have  been  found 
by  Locke  J  bears  a  confiderable  degree  of  internal  evi- 
dence both  of  its  own  antiquity  and  of  its  own  idea ;  and 
on  this  hypothefis  it  will  be  eafy  to  account  for  many 
difficult  matters  that  perhaps  cannot  fo  clearly  be  done- 
on  any  other,  and  particularly  of  the  great  fimilarity 
between  the  Hindoo  fciences  and  ours  :  a  comparifon 
between  our  oldeft  fcientific  writers  and  thofe  of  the 
Hindoos  will  fet  the  matter  beyond  difpute  ;  and  for- 
tunately the  works  of  Bede  carry  us  twelve  hundred 
years  back,  which  is  near  enough  to  the  times  of  the 
Druids  to  give  hopes  of  finding  there  fome  of  their  re- 
mains. I  fliould  have  made  the  comparifon  myfelf, 
but  Bede  is  not  an  author  to  be  met  with  in  this  coun- 
try ;  however,  I  compared  an  aftrolabe  in  the  Nagry 
charafter  (brought  by  Dr.  Mackinnon  from  Jynagur) 
with  Chaucer'^  defcription,  and  found  them  to  agree 
mod  minutely :  even  the  center-pin,  which  Chaucer 
calls  "the  horfes,"  has  a  horfe's  head  upon  it  in  the  in- 
ftrument  j  therefore  if  Chaucer*s  defcription  fhould 
happen  to  be  a  tranflation  from  Bede^  it  will  be  a  flrong 
argument  in  favour  of  the  hypothefis,  for  we  then 
could  have  nothing  from  the  Arabians.  What  Bun^ 
gey  and  Swijfet  may  contain,  will  alfo  deferve  inquiry ; 
and  that  the  comparifon  may  be  the  readier  made, 
where  the  books  are  procurable,  I  mean  very  (hordy 
to  publifli  iranflations  of  the  Leelavotty  and  Beej  Ge^ 
neta^oi  the  arithmetic  and  algebra  of  the  Hindoos. 

lis 


490  A?PEKDIX. 

It  is  much  tolDC  feared,  however,  that  many  of  ihc 
bed  treatifes  of  the  Hindoos  are  loft,  and  that  many 
of  thofe  that  remain  are  imperfedt.  By  the  help  of  a 
Pundit  I  tranllated  part  of  the  Beej  Ganera  near  fix 
years  ago,  when  no  European  but  myfelf,  1  believe, 
even  fuipe&ed  that  the  Hindoos  had  any  Algebra ;  but 
finding  that  my  copy  was  imperfeft,  I  deferred  com- 
pleting the  tranflation,  in  hopes  of  procuring  the  re- 
mainder. I  have  fince  found  a  fmall  part  more,  and/ 
have  feen  many  copies ;  but  from  the  plan  of  the  work 
(which  in  my  opinion  is  the  beft  way  of  judging)  they 
mil  feem  to  be  all  imperfeft,  though  the  copier  gene- 
rally takes  care  to  put  at  the  end  of  them  that  they  are 
.complete.  I  have  the  fame  opinion  of  the  Leelavatiyy 
and  for  the  fame  reafon  :  indeed,  it  is  obvious  that 
there  muft  have  been  treatifes  exifting  where  algebra 
was  carried  much  farther;  becaufc  many  of  their  rules 
in  aftronomy  are  approximations  deduced  from  infi- 
nite feries,  or  at  leaft  have  every  appearance  of  it ; 
fuch,  for  inftance,  as  finding  the  fine  from  the  arc,  and 
the  contrary  ;  and  finding  the  angles  of  a  right  angled 
triangle  from  the  hypothenufe  and  fides,  independent 
of  tables  of  fines  ;  and  fevcral  others  of  a  fimilarna- 
ture,  much  more  complicated.  I  have  been  informed 
by  one  of  their  PzmJits^  that,  fome  time  ago,  there 
were  other  treatifes  of  Algebra  befides  that  jufl:  men- 
tioned,  and  much  more  difficult,  though  he  had  not 
feen  them ;  and  therefore,  as  it  is  poflible  they  may 
flill  be  exifting,  and  yet  be  in  danger  of  perilhing 
very  foon,  it  is  much  to  be  wifiied  that  people  would 
coUeft  as  many  of  the  books  cf  fcience  as  pofilble 
(their  poetry  is  in  no  danger)  and  particularly  thofe 
of  the  dodlrine  of  Boodhy  which  perhaps  may  be  met 
with  towards  Thibet.  That  many  of  their  beft  books  are 
depraved  and  loft  is  evident,  becaufe  there  is  not  now  a 
fingle  book  of  geometrical  elements  to  be  met  with  \ 
and  yet  that  they  had  elements  not  long  ago,  and  appa- 
rently more  extenfive  than  thofe  oi Euclid,  is  obvious 


APPENDIX.  491 

from  fome  of  their  works  of  no  great  antiquity;  the 
fame  remarks  are  applicable  to  their  cofmographical 
remains,  in  fome  of  which  there  are  indications  of  an 
aftronomy  fuperior  to  that  of  the  Soorya  Siddhanty  and 
fuch  popular  treatifes. 

Till  we  can  therefore  find  fome  of  their  more  fape» 
rior  works,  it  muft  be  rather  from  the  form  and  con- 
ftruftion  of  their  aftronomical  tables  and  rules,  and 
the  properties  implied  in  their  accidental  folutions  of 
queftions,  &c.  that  we  can  judge  what  they  formerly 
knew,  than  otherwife.  That  they  are  acquainted  with 
a  differential  method  fimilar  to  NewtorCsy  I  fhall  give 
many  reafons  for  believing,  in  a  treat ife  on  the  princi- 
ples of  the  Hindoo  aftronomy,  which  I  began  mora 
than  three  years  ago,  but  was  prevented  from 
finifhing,  by  a  troublefome  and  laborious  einployment 
that  for  two  years  gave  me-  no  leifure  whatever;  and 
which  (though  the  fmall  time  I  had  to  fpare  fince  has 
been  employed  in  writing  a  comment  on  the  works  of 
Newtimj  and  explaining  them  to  a  very  ingenious  na- 
tive who  is  tranflating  them  into  Arabic)  I  hope  ere 
long  to  have  an  opportunity  of  completing.  At  pre- 
fent  I  (hall  only  give  an  extract  of  a  paper  explaining 
the  conftruftion  of  fome  tables,  which  firft  led  me  to 
the  idea  of  their  having  a  differential  method  ;  it  is 
part  of  one,  out  of  a  number  of  papers  that  were  writ- 
ten in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1783  and  the  begin- 
ning of  1784,  and  of  which  feveral  copies  were  taken 
by  different  people,  and  fome  of  them  fent  to  England. 
This  particular  extraft  was  to  inveftigate  the  rules  at 
pages  253,  254,  and  255  of  Monf.  Gentirs  Voyage, 
of  which  the  author  fays,  *^  Je  n'ai  pu  favoir  fur  quels 
*^  principes  cette  table  eft  fondee,"  &c,  and  is  as  fol- 
lows: 


cc 

ii 


Now,  by  proceeding  in  the  manner  explained  in 
the  aforefaid  papej,  to  calculate  the  right  afccnfion 

Ii4 


'ifC^' 


49Z 


AF^EKDIX. 


<*  and  afcenfional  difference  for  Tirvalour,  and  af* 
'<  terwards  taking  the  differences  algebraically,  and  re<» 
'^  ducing  them  to  puis  of  a  Gurry ^  as  in  the  follow* 
**  ing  table,  the  principles  of  <he  method  will  be 
**  evident* 


s 

ObL  Al'ceni'. 

Firft  diff.  of  ObL 
Afcenfioa. 

Do.  reduc- 
ed to  PuU 
ofaGuriy. 

Do.ivi> 
Iher  re- 
duced. 

R.  A.  Aic.  Diff. 

o           /       o        / 

0     /         0       / 

o 

o    o— o    o 

. 

• 

I 

27    54—2    19 

27  54—2  i^ 

279—23 

256 

1 

57  49— 4 '^3 

29  55— ^  54 

299—19 

280 

3 

90    0—4  59 

32  II— 0  46 

322—  8 

314 

4 

122  II — ^4  13 

32 11 +0  4ft 

322+  8 

330 

5 

1^2     6 — 2  19 

29  55+1 54 

299  +  19 

318 

6 

180    0  +  0    0 

27  54+2  19 

279  +  23 

3Q2 

7 

200  54+2  ^9 

27  54+2 19 

179  +  23 

302 

8 

237  49  +  4  13 

*9  57  +  1  54 

299  +  19 

318 

¥ 

270    0+4  59 

}2    11+0   46 

322+  8 

330 

lO 

302  1 1 +,4  13 

32    II 0   46 

322 —  8 

314 

II 

332     6  +  2  19 

^9  55     I  54  299     19 

280 

12 

^60    0  +  0     0 

27  54     2  19  279     23 

256 

•*  The  fifth  and  Cxth  columns  fufficiently  explain 
^*  the  tables  in  page  253  and  254  of  M.  Genti/;  but 
«*  there  remains  a  part  more  difficult,  namely,  why  in 
^^  calculating  the  Bauja^**  or  the  doubles  of  the  firft 
differences  .of  the  afcenfional  difference  **  ^-S-  of  the 
**  length  of  the  (hadow  is  taken  for  the  firft;  ^  of 
•  ^  the  firft  term  for  the  fecond  ;  and  j.  of  the  firft 
**  term  for  the  third."  **  The  primary  reafbn  of 
**  taking  differences  here,  feems  to  be  that  the 
^*  chords  may   be  nearly  equal  to  the    arcs,    and" 


♦«  that,  by  adding  of  the  differcacc^  the  arcs  them* 
"  felves  may  be  found  nearly  9  the  reafon  will  appear 
*^  from  the  following  inveftigation.  Let  Nl^e  theequac 
'*  torial  (hadow  of  the  Bramins  in  Singles ^  tlien  720  the 
**  length  of  the  Gnomon^  or  twelve  Ongks^  will  be  to  N 
**  the  fhadow,  as  radius  to  tlie  tangent  of  the  latitude; 
^<  and  radius  to  the  tangent  of  the  latitude  as  the  tangen( 
•*  of  the  decimation  to  the  fine  of  the  alcei^fionalMif- 
*«  ference;  confequently  720  is  to  N  as  the  tangent  of 
^*  declination  to  the  fine  of  the  afcenfional  difference. 
**  Now  if  the  declinations  for  one,  two,  and  three  fines 
**  be  fubftituted  in  the  laft  proportion,  we  get  the  fines 
*^  of  the  three  afcenfional  differences  in  terms  of  N 
'*  and  known  quantities ;  and,  if  thefe  values  be  fub* 
^^  flituted  in  the  Newtonian  form  for  finding  the  arc 
•*  from  the  fine,  we  get  the  arcs  in  parts  of  the  radius; 
**  and  if  each  of  thefe  be  multiplied  by  3600  and 
**  divided  by  6,28318,  the  values  come  out  in  puis 
•«  of  a  Gurry  if  N  be  in  BingleSy  but  in  parts  of  a 
*^  Gurry  if  N  be  in  Onglesi  and  by  taking  the  doubles^^ 
*^  we  get  the  values  nearly  as  follows : 


F'ahiis, 
o,poooo  N 
0,33056  N 
0,^9928  N 
0,70860  N 


Difference* 

0,33056  N  =  1-3  N  nearly,        ,  1  the  valaef 

0,26872  N  =  4-5  of  1-3  N  nearly,  V  ufed  by  the 

0,10932  N  =  1-3  N  nearly,  J    Brammsm 


**  Now,  becaufe  the  values  in  the  firft  column  are 
^'  doubles  of  the  afcenfional  differences  for  one,  two^ 
*^  and  three  fines,  their  halves  are  the  afcenfional  di£* 
**  ferences  in  parts  of  a  Gurry,  fuppofing  N  to  be 
in  Ongks ;  and  if  each  of  thefe  halves  be  muiti* 
plied  by  fixty,  the  produds,  namely,  9,9168  N, 
<^  17,9784  N,  and  21,2380  N  will  be  the  fame  in 
**  puis  of  a  Gurry  5  and  if  to  get  each  of  thefe  nearly 
<*  in  round  numbers,  the  whole  be  multiplied  by  three, 
'^  and  afterwards  divided  by  three,  the  three  produ£b 


494  APPEKDIX* 

•*  will  be  29,75  N,  53,94  N,  and  63,77  ^>  which  are 
*'  nearly  equal  to  thirty  N,  fifty-four  N,  and  fixty- 
♦*  four  N  rcfpedtively ;  and  hence  the  foundation  of  the 
*'  Braniin  rule  is  evident,  which  direfts  to  multiply 
**  the  equatorial  (liadow  by  thirty,  fifty-four,  and 
**  fixty-four  refpeftively;  and  to  divide  the  produfts 
«*  by  three  for  the  Chorardo  in  puis :  and  thefe  parts 
^*  anfwer  to  one,  two,  and  three  figns  of  longitude 
**  from  the  true  equinox ;  and  thcreforcthe  AyanongPi^ 
•*  or  Bramin  preceflion  of  the  equinox,  muft  be  add- 
**  ed,  to  find  the  intermediate  Chorardo  by  propor- 
<^  tion/' 

Though  the  agreement  of  this  inveftigation  with 
the  Bramin  refults,  is  no  proof  that  the  Hindus  had 
cither  the  differential  method,  or  Algebra,  it  gave  mc 
at  the  time  a  ftrong  fufpicion  of  both ;  and  yet,  for 
want  of  knowing  the  name  that  Algebra  went  by  in 
Sanfcrlij  I  was  near  two  years  before  I  found  a  treatifc 
on  it,  and  even  then  I  fhould  not  have  known  what  to 
enquire  for,  if  it  had  not  come  into  my  mind  to  aflc 
how  they  inveftigated  their  rules.  Of  the  differential 
method,  1  have  yet  met  wiih  no  regular  treatife,  but 
have  no  doubt  whatever  that  there  were  fuch,  for  the 
reafons  I  before  hinted  at ;  and  1  hope  others  will  be 
more  fortunate  in  their  enquiries  after  it  than  myfelf. 

With  refpedt  to  the  Binomial  Theorem^  the  applica- 
tion of  it  to  fractional  indices  will  perhaps  remain  for 
ever  the  exclufive  property  of  Newton ;  but  the  fol- 
lowing queftion  and  its  folution  evidently  flievv  that 
the  Hindoos  underftood  it  in  whole  numbers  to  the 
lull  as  well  as  Briggs^  and  much  better  than 
PafcaL  Dr.  Hiitton^  in  a  valuable  edition  of  Sher- 
win's  tables,  has  lately  done  juftice  to  Briggs ;  but 
Mr.  Whitche]}^  who  ibme  years  before  pointed  out 
Briggs  as  the  undoubted  inventor  of  the  differential 


method,  faid  he  had  found  fome  mdlcations  of  the 
Binomial  Theorem  in  much  older  authors.  The  irfc- 
thod  however  by  which  that  great  man  inveftigated 
the  DGwers  independent  of  each  other,  is  exaftly  the 
fame  as  that  in  the  following  tranflation  from  the 
Sanfcrtt. 

'^  A  Rajah  palace  had  eight  doors ;  now  thefe  doors 
*«  may  either  be  opened  by  one  at  a  time,  or  by  two 
«  at  a  time,  or  by  three  at  a  time,  and  fo  on  through 
*<  the  whole,  till  at  laft  all  are  opened  together.  It  is 
«  required  to  tell  the  numbers  of  times  that  this  can 
"  be  done  ? 

*^  Set  down  the  number  of  the  doors,  and  proceed 
^^  in  order,  gradually  decreafing  by  one  to  unity, 
«*  and  then  in  a  contrary  order,  as  follows : 

87654321 
12345678 

*^  Divide  the  firll  number  eight  by  the  unit  beneath 
«*  it,  and  the  quotient  eight  (hews  the  number  of 
<^  times  that  the  doors  can  be  opened  by  one  at  a  time. 
<^  Multiply  this  laft  eight  by  the  next  term  feven, 
*'  and  divide  the  produft  by  the  two  bereith  it,  and 
^^  the  refult  twenty-eight  is  the  number  of  times  that 
**  two  different  doors  may  be  opened ;  multiply  the 
**  laft  found  twenty-eight  by  the  next  figure  fix,  and 
*^  divide  the  produdl  by  the  three  beneath  it,  and  the 
"  quotiept  fifty-fix  ftiews  the  number  of  times  that 
**  three  different  doors  may  be  opened.  Again,  this 
**  fifty-fix  multiplied  by  the  next  five,  and  divided  by 
"  the  four  beneath  it,  is  feventy,  the  number  of 
"  times  that  four  different  doors  may  be  opened.'  In 
*^  the  fame  manner  fifty-fix  is  the  number  of  fives  that 
*'  can  be  opened :  twenty-eight  the  number  of  times 
**  that  fix  can  be  opened :  eight  the  number  of  times 


49&  APPENDIX, 

«*  that  fevcn  can  be  opened ;  and  laftly,  one  is  the. 
'••  number  of  times  the  whole  may  be  opened  together  | 
*^  and  the  fvjm  of  all  the  different  times  is  £55." 

The  demonftration  is  evident  to  mathematicians  j; 
for  as  the  fecond  term's  coefficient  in  a  general  equa- 
tion (hews  the  fum  of  the  roots,  therefore,  in  the 
j|  power  of  I  +  T ,  where  every  root  is  unity,  the  co- 
efficient (hews  the  different  ones-  that  can  be  taken  in 
n  things :  alfo,  becaufe  the  third  term's  coefficient  is 
the  fum  of  the  produds  of  all  the  different  twos 
of  the  roots,  therefore  when  each  root  is  unity,  the 
produfts  of  each  two'  roots  will  be  unity,  and  there- 
fore the  number  of  units,  or  the  coefficient  itfelf,  (hews 
the  number  of  different  twos  that  can  be  taken  in  n 
things.  Again,  becaufe  the  fourth  term  is  the  fum  of 
the  produdts  of  the  different  threes  that  can  be  taken 
among  the  roots,  therefore,  when  each  root  is  in  unity, 
the  produft  of  each  three  will  be  unity,  and  therefore 
every  unit  in  the  fourth  will  flievv  a  produdl  of  three 
different  roots,  and  confequently  the  coefficient  itfelf 
Ihews  all  the  different  threes  that  can  be  taken  in  n 
things;  and  fo  for  the  reft.  I  fliould  not  have  added 
this,  but  that  I  do  not  know  well  where  to  refer  to  it, 

P.  S.  There  is  an  obfervation,  perhaps  worth  re- 
marking, with  refpecft  to  the  change  o(\ht  poles  ^  name- 
ly, that  the  fmall  rock-oyfters  are  generally  all  dead 
within  about  a  foot  above  high  water-mark ;  now  pof- 
£bly  naturalifts  n>ay  be  able  to  tell  the  ageof  fuch  fhells 
nearly  by  their  appearance ;  and  if  fo,  a  pretty  good 
cftimate  may  be  formed  of  the  rate  of  alteration  or  the 
level  of  the  fea  in  fuch  places  where  they  are;  for  I  made 
fome  aftronomical  obfervations  on  a  rock  in  the  fea  near 
an  ifland  about  feven  miles  to  the  fouth  of  the  ifland 
of  Chedhiiba^  on  the  Aracan  coaft,  whofe  top  was  eigh- 
teen feet  above  high  water-mark,  and  the  whole  rock 
covered  with  thole  fliells  faft  grown  to  it,  but  all  of 


APPEKBIX.  497 

them  dead,  except  thofe  which  were  a  foot  above  the 
high  water-mark  of  that  day,  which  was  Febniary  2, 
1788.  The  (hells  were  evidently  altered  a  little  ia 
proportion  to  their  height  above  the  water,  but  by  no 
means  fo  much  as  to  induce  one  to  believe  that  the 
rock  had  been  many  years  out  of  it.  All  the  adja- 
cent iflands  and  the  coaft  (hewed  (imilar  appearances, 
and  therefore  it  was  evidently  no  partial  elevation  by 
fubterraneous  fires,  or  any  thing  of  that  (brt ;  this  is 
alfo  apparent  from  the  ifland  of  Chednha  itfelf,  in 
which  there  is  a  regular  fucceflion  of  (ca-beaches  and 
(hells  more  and  more  decayed  to  a  great  height. 
By  a  kind  of  vague  eftimation  from  the  trees  and  the 
coa(b  and  (hells,  &c.  (on  which  however  there  is  not 
the  leaft  dependence)  I  fuppofed  that  the  fea  might 
be  fubfiding  at  the  rate  of  about  three  inches  in  a 
year. 


ADDITIONS. 

Page  154.     Note.     The   gunja^  I  find,    is    th* 

4hrus  of  our  botanifts  \  and  1  venture  to  defcribc  it 

Tom  the  wild  plant  compared  with  a  beautiful  draw- 

ng  of  the  flower  magnified,  with  which  1  was  favoured 

iiy  Dr.  Anderfon^ 

Class  XVII.     Order  IV. 

CaL  Perianth  funnel-fliaped,  indented  above. 
Cor,    Cymbiform ;    Awning    roundilh,    pointed, 
nerved. 

ffings  lanced,  fliorter  than  the  awning. 

Keel  rather  longer  than  the  wings. 

Sfam.  Filaments  nine,  fome  fliorter ;  united  in  two 
fets  at  the  top  of  a  divided,  bent,  awl-fhaped  body. 

Pijf.  Germ  inferted  in  the  calyx.  Style  very  mi- 
nute at  the  bottom  of  the  divided  body.  Stigma,  to 
ihe  naked  eye,  obtufc ;  in  the  microfcope,  feathered. 

Per.  A  legume.  Seeds^  fpheroidal ;  black  or  white, 
or  fcarlet  with  black  tips. 

Leaves  pinnated;  fome  with,  fome  without,  an 
odd  leaflet. 

Page  361.  See  the  Plate  Fig.  1.  The  female  in-^ 
feft  in  its  larva  ftate.  2.  The  egg,  which  produces 
the  male.  3.  The  male  infeft.  4.  The  head  with 
jointed  antennae.  5.  The  wings  on  one  fide.  The 
preceding  figures  are  much  magnified,  but  in  juft 
proportion*  6.  A  piece  of  LaCy  of  its  natural  fize. 
y.  The  infide  of  the  external  coat  of  the  cells. 
8.  One  of  the  utriculi.  The  two  laft  fig<.ires  are  a 
little  magnified. 


THE  END  OF  THE  SECOND  VOLUME. 


Aux.L>,  Printer,  Grevilie-Street,  Londoft. 


CONTENTS 

OF       THE 

SECOND    VOLUME. 


Page 

I.  T^ISCOURSE  thd  Fourth  :  on  the  Jrabs    .     -  c 

11.-*-^  Difcourfc  the  Fifth :  or^xht  Tartars  -     -     -  i^ 

in.  Difcourfc  the  Sixth  :  on  the  Perjiam        -     -     -  4^ 

IV.  On  the  Deiccnt  of  the  Afghans  from  the  Je^vs  -  67 

\.  On  the  llland  of  Hinzuan   -------  jj 

VI.  On  the  Indian  Grofs-bcak        ------lOa 

Vir.  On  the  Chronology  of  the  iJ/W«5    -     -.     -     -  m 

VIII.  On  the  Cure  of  the  Elefihantis   -----  14^ 

IX.  On  the //i^/tf«  Game  of  C//^       ~     "     "     "     ~  '59 

X.  Infcripiions  from  the  ^/W/}y^  Mountains  -     -     -  157 

XI.  A  Defcription  of  J Jam     -------lyj 

XII.  On  the  Mountaineers  of  Trijmra      -     -     -     •  jgy 

XIII.  On  the  Book  of  CA/W>  Odes 195 

XIV.  On  the  IntrotUiftion  of  Arabic  into  Perjian     -  20c 

XV.  On  the  Aftronomy  of  the  i//W«j     -     -     -     -  ^25 

XVI.  On  the  Indian  Zodiac      --..----  280 

XVII.  An  Account  of  Nejicd    -------  ^07 

XVIII.  On  the  Cure  of  Pcrlbns  bitten  by  Snakes     -  323 

XIX.  On  fome  Roman  Coins  found  at  riehre     -     -  334 

XX.  On  two  Indian  Feftivals,  and  the  S/ihinx     -     -  333 

XXI.  On  the  Ifle  of  Carnicobar      ------  33^ 

XXII.  On  the  Medicinal  Plants  of /W/a      -     -     -  3^- 

XXIII.  On  the  Diflcflion  of  the  Ptfwp-o//>f      -     -     -  ^r^ 

XXIV.  OntheZflf  Infeft 361 

XXV.  Difcourfc  tlic  Seventh  :  on  the  C/i/w^     -     -  365 

XXVI.  An  Infcription  found  near  IJlamabad     -     -  282 

XXVII.  A  Supplement  to  No.  VII.   •     .     -     -     .  ggj 

XXVIII.  On  the  Spikenard  of  the  Antients      -     -  405 
Ap.  I.  A  Meteorological  Diary     ------  ^ig 

II.  On  the  Cafes  in  deducing  the  Longitude,  &c.  473 

III.  On  an  Ancient  Building  in  Hajifiur      -    -  477 

IV.  On  fome  Eclipfes  of  ju/iitert  Satellites     -  487 

V.  On  the  Hindu  Binomial  Theorem      -.    -    -  487 

*^*  There  was  not  room  in  this  volume  for  the  DifTcr- 
tations  on  the  Mufic  of  the  Hindus  and  the  Laws  of  Siam  ; 
but  they  will  appear  in  the  Third  volume^  for  which  axpplc 
materials  have  beca  coIle£ted. 


•  I 


1  / 


MEMBERS 

OF 

THE  ASIATIC  SOCIETY 

AT  THE  END  OF  THE  YEAR,  1790. 


MATRONS, 

The  Right  Hon.  Charles  Earl  Cornwallis, 

.   ](nig}^t  of  the  Garter,  Governor  General,  &c.  &c. 
The  Hon.  Charles  Stuart^ " 


Pefer  Speke^  Efq. 
JViHiam  Cowfer^  Efq. 


^  Members,  of  the  Supreme 
Council. 


•ss=:i 


Sir  William  Jonety  Knight ^  Prejident. 
John  Herbert  Harrington,  Efq.  Secretary. 

David  An'derfon,  Efq.         Charles  Boddam,  Efq. 
Lieut.  James  Andcrfon.       John  Briftovv,  Efq. 

Ralph  Broom,  Efq. 

Lt.  Limirgton  Bailie.  ^^"^^"^  Burroughs,  Efc^. 

iFrancis  Balfour,  M.  D.  ^^"^'^'^  ^"''°^'  ^^^• 

George  Hil.  Barlow,  Efq.  ^^^"^  ^'""'  ^^^^ 
-  John  Bebb,  Efq. 

Rev.  Dr.  J.  Bell.  Gen.  John  Carnac. 

Robert  Bkke,  Efq.  Sir  Robert  Chambers,  Kt. 

Sir  Charles  Blunt,  Bart.  William  Chambers,  Efq. 

R.  H.  Boddam,  Efq,  Jofeph  Champion,  Efq. 

Vol.  II.  Kk 


MEMBERS    OF    THE 

Charles  Chapman,  Efq. 
Maj.  Charles  Chatfield. . 
George  F.  Cherry,  Efq. 
Hon.  John  Cochrane. 
Lt.  Robert  Colebrooke. 
Burrifli  Crifp,  Efq. 
John  Crifp,  Efq. 

Thomas  Daniell,  Efq. 
Samuel  Davis,  Efq.     - 
William  Devjs,  Efq. 
Jonathan  Duncan^  Efq. 


ASIATIC    SOCIETY. 

Alex.  Hamilton  Efq. 
Lieut.  Charles  Hamilton. 
James  Hare,  M.  D. 
Warren  Haftings^  Efq. 
Edward  Hay,  Efq. 
Wm.  Nath.  Hewitt,  Efq. 
Lieut.  Ifaac  Humphries. 
Ofias  Humphrys,  Efq. 
William  Hunter,  Efq. 
Mr.  Juftice  Hyde. 

Richard  Johnfon,  Efq. 


John  Elliot,  Efq. 

John  Farquar,  Efq. 
John  Fleming,  Efq. 
Capt.  Thomas  Forreft. 
Francis  Fowke,  Efq. 
Lieut.  W.  Franklin. 
Lieut.  Charles  Frafer. 
Col.  James  Fullarton. 

John  Gilchrift,  Efq. 
Francis  Gladwin,  Efq. 
Thomas  Graham,  Efq, 
Charles  Grant,  Efq. 
James  Grant,  Efq. 

Capt.  Henry  Haldane. 


Richard  Kennaway,  Efq. 
Capt.  J.  Kennaway,  Efq. 
Capt.  Wm.  Kirkpatrick. 

Dan.  Rob.  Leckic,  Efq. 
Thomas  Law,  Efq. 
Capt.  Herbert  Lloyd. 

Lieut.  Colin  Macaulay. 
Enfign  Alex.  Macdonald. 
Sir  John  Macpherfon,  Bt. 
Col.  Allen  Macpherfon, 
Ch.  Ware  Malet,  Efq. 
William,  Marfden,  Efq. 
Barthol.  Marfh,  Efq. 
Ch.  Fuller  Martyn,  Efq. 
peorge  Ch.  Meyer,  Efq. 


f 


MEMBERS   OF    THE 

Nathan.  Middletpn,  Efq. 
Edmund  Morris,  Efq. 
Col.  John  Murray. 

John  David  Paterfon,  Efq. 
Lieut.  Col.  A.  Polier. 

Jol^n  RJchardfon,  Efq. 
John  Royds,  Efq. 

Robert  Saunders,  Efq. 
Capt.  Jon.  Scott. 
Capt.  Rd.  Scott. 
Capt.  William  Scott. 
John  Shore,  Efq. 
Sir  Robert  Sloper,  K.  B. 


ASIATIC    SOCIETY. 

John  Stables,  Efq. 
Capt.  William  Steuart. 

John  Taylor,  Efq. 
Gov.  Tfaac  Titfingh. 
Henry  St.  J.Tucker,  Efq. 
Lieut.  Sam.  Turner. 

t 

Lieut.  Francis  Wilford. 
Charles  Wilkins,  Efq. 
Jo^n  ZofFany,  Efq.    . 


HONORARY    MEMBERS* 

M.  Charpent.  de  Coffigny. 
M.  Le  Gentil. 


OCT  9       1916 


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